True Vocation
by Laryna6
Summary: Vampire attacks weren't unknown, but Dr. Frankenstein hadn't thought they would ever occur somewhere he lived. He might not be these people's lord or their priest, but a doctor is still called to save their patients.
1. Chapter 1

_I wanted to write an AU of what happened a thousand plus years ago, but since we don't have canon on the details of how Frankenstein ended up desperate enough to experiment on himself, I realized I needed to write not just about the Nail but the Horseshoe That Wanted It in order to do my For Want Of A Nail AU._

 _So this chapter is my current general idea of what happened. It could be far more historically accurate, but it's not like Noblesse does period costuming either. Although fanart with the Noblesse cast in period gear would be awesome, true. I know some things about that general time and place, but I'm probably massively anachronistic with a lot. A lot actually was going down in the area Franken's probably from during the range of centuries he could be from, so forgive me for tossing up my hands and creating something a little generic instead of getting Chelsea Quinn Yarbro-level detailed historical setting integrating current events (with bibliography) here._

 _There's_ so _much stuff someone could go into with the history of medicine in Europe, and what it means that Frankenstein was way, way pre-Renaissance. He's more impressive the more you think about him. (I want Crombel fanboying, heh.)_

 _The Nail happens next chapter, and the results of that divergence show up in the chapter after that. I also have a variety of scenes in the modern day of this AU in my head, but again I found that I was writing scenes that needed to refer to other scenes in order to make sense and therefore I needed to scrap what I had and write those scenes first._

* * *

There were rumors of vampires about, but there had been vampires about _somewhere_ for centuries.

Isolated incidents. Rampaging beasts that grew claws and hunted by night. Although they were far stronger than any human, the people of the Holy Roman Empire had adapted. There were specialized hunters, who used traps and chains to hold them down while they kept the vampire incapacitated by damaging their organs long enough to remove the head. Even with their uncanny healing, they couldn't regrow the head, and once that was off the heart would remain destroyed and the vampire couldn't rise again, although many took additional precautions. Such as burning the bodies.

Dr. Frankenstein would have to ask the townsfolk what other remedies they knew.

A normal vampire attack was a tragedy, but one was far less deadly than a normal plague. People took precautions. They would hang garlic in their homes so the pungent aroma overpowered the human scent. Wearing perfumes to conceal one's natural oder could also make it easier to escape from them, or even confuse them and make them think you were not prey.

He would need to make more bottles to hold preparations. Think about what he could find in the forest that would be easy to distill into a strong scent.

He tried to think of what he could do because the alternative was panicking.

The crashes in the distance had made him spring awake. Not just wood, but he clearly heard stone grinding against stone: had a house collapsed? Screams, shouting, the clash of blades.

He'd immediately started to throw his clothes on to go find out was going on and try to make sure the wounded weren't injured worse in the process of extraction from the wreckage.

Everything was too quiet after the noise stopped. It made him hurry faster.

It wasn't a house.

 _The town wall_. A section had fallen, only two layers of stones still atop the other. Easy to step over. As though someone had battered a path for them to walk through?

He'd frozen but Heinrich grabbed him, shouting with relief, and pulling him over to two bodies lying on the ground.

"What happen-" Frankenstein started to ask.

"Vampires! Three of them! They came up to the gate, one of them ordered the captain to open it when he called down to them to order them to go away! We had to grab the captain, but then the vampire ordered the other two with it to make a hole in the wall! Walter tried to attack them, but the vampire ordered him to just stand there and drank his blood! He called the Captain to him too – I tried to move, but I couldn't!"

Despite the clear panic, Frankenstein told him, "I believe you." It was almost automatic: he was used to reassuring patients by now, so they'd calm down and follow instructions. Panic was clearly not beneficial to the humors: patients did seem to heal much better when they were confident in the treatment. Although he was sure the main concern of many doctors was that the patient and family feel that the doctor was doing something, so they would keep paying regardless of whether or not there was a cure…

He couldn't do anything about a vampire attack… No. He had duties in this situation. "Has someone fetched the priest?"

"I think someone ran towards the church…" From his nervous glance towards the wall, Heinrich would follow them, but the man seemed caught between what seemed practical and his duty to guard the town. Even if they was nothing he could do but die uselessly if they returned.

"Help me with the bodies: we'll have to bring them to the church," Frankenstein ordered.

Heinrich snapped to attention with relief, glad to have something to do, a clear order to follow.

Before Frankenstein revealed his vocation as a doctor, his family had him serve as a page and train with a sword and the baron's soldiers. As the third son of a minor family without much in the way of property, distinguishing himself in military service would have been his best chance of earning a title. Knowing how to give orders was endlessly useful to a doctor.

"Have your sword ready to stab it down into his gut," Frankenstein told the young man before he approached the first body. Kneeling down beside it, he didn't need to fish the scrap of mirror out of his bag to know that, "He's still breathing," he said aloud, having learned the habit of making his observations aloud to reassure patients. When it was good news, at least. "No wounds, other than that bite out of the shoulder…" He had to restrain a curse, because what he'd just figured out was _not_ good news.

"One of them grabbed Walter." Heinrich hovered nervously, torchlight reflecting gold off his brown hair. "I heard bone break before the leader ordered them to let him go."

Even with the broken arm, it was possible they might survive, if they were kept warm and the proper fluids were poured into them quickly. Blood was one of the four humors: it corresponded to air and the mind and soul. Since the process of turning someone into a vampire involved draining it away, that was why the majority of them became mindless beasts.

If the wounds were certainly fatal, then the bodies would be destroyed right away to keep them from rising. Vampires were ravening beasts: their master wouldn't have ordered the other two to restrain themselves without a reason.

The night watch captain and his second-in-command were two of the strongest men in the town, bar the blacksmith. If the leader of the vampires wanted to increase their number, they were the best candidates.

If Frankenstein was his oldest brother, or if he had become an officer, he would have taken Heinrich's sword and destroyed their hearts here and now. There was money for his second brother to become a priest: he would have dragged them to the church for last rites, before sending them on to save them from the violation of their souls.

Yet he was a doctor, and there was a chance they might live. He could see the trap, but his vocation meant he had to take the risk. "We'll have to bring them to my treatment room; I'll send one of my staff for the priest and the day watch officer."

"I'm here," he heard, and turned around to see the man, along with the blacksmith and a few of the sturdier farmers.

"Good," he said, relieved. "It may still be possible to save their lives: I'll need help transporting them."

"You three: help the doctor. Heinrich, stay here. I'll need your report."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"Build up the fire in the treatment room," Dr. Frankenstein ordered his cook and head maid Justine when he saw that she was up. "And set water to boil."

"I've already warmed some up," she told him as they moved aside to get out of the way of the stretchers.

"Good." He nodded. "Bring me the sugar." There was salt among his medicines, of course.

Blood was warm and wet: the bodies were already chilled, so raising their temperature was an obvious first step to restore their proper balance even to a layman.

After putting strengthening herbs in to steep, he made a cup with salt and sugar, adding some cold water to get it to more than skin heat. Most of the time he wanted the windows open, in defiance of common wisdom, but it was cold out there.

He hesitated. "I'll need your heavy gloves," he told the blacksmith. They _should_ have until the following night until there was any chance they might rise, but if the leader who changed them could speak and had other rare powers? He couldn't risk them biting him while he tried to get them to drink. "Someone fetch rope – we need to tie them down in case they rise."

Father Andrew arrived shortly after the rope, and gave them last rites. That was a relief to everyone: the holy oils certainly couldn't hurt the watchmen's chances of resisting the attacks upon their souls. To have your free will stripped from you, to become unable to resist the compulsion to kill? And vampires didn't have enough mind left to repent! To violate the commandment against murder and not have a chance to repent was certain damnation.

Ordinary diseases only afflicted the body. They had no power to touch the soul. A vampire could take someone's mind, their very _self_ from them.

A doctor was powerless against that.

Frankenstein was not fond of being powerless to help his patients.

They moved them out into the sunlight once it rose. Shortly before dusk, they began to thrash weakly in their bonds. He was the doctor, so he was the one to open an eyelid and find the iris and scalera red, as though stained by the blood they'd lost.

He was the doctor, and he had taken responsibility for letting them live long enough for the curse to affect them instead of granting them mercy. "I'll do it," he told the watchmen standing with him curtly.

Normally, cleaning was calming. Washing the blood off a sword… if only there was more of a relief when it was gone.

* * *

"Three of them, and maybe more by the time vampire hunters arrive," the mayor said. "We'll have to offer a reward for them to take that risk instead of going after easier prey."

Frankenstein could see nodding heads around the room. No one was going to blame them: if a hunter died uselessly, overwhelmed by a vampire with more intelligence than just animal cunning, then they wouldn't be able to save other towns while those other towns only had a single vampire. Before they could become nests of the beasts.

He put the pouch of coin on the table before anyone could ask. The village paid most of its taxes in goods, but those were heavy for a messenger to carry. Whoever they sent would have to travel light, to get a good distance away before the vampires could pursue them. "I'll cover the hunters and their expenses, just let me know what you need. I've already lost two patients. I'd rather not lose more." He smiled. "I saved up that money to come here and study the herbs and find why people are so much longer-lived in the country than in the cities. I was expecting to spend it on imported medicines instead of hired swords, but as long as it serves its purpose."

"Thank you, Dr. Frankenstein," the mayor was the first to say. The relieved thanks echoed from elsewhere in the room: they hadn't wanted to ask, not when he was from out of town and had always accepted barter instead of coin from them, and goods equal to far less value than a doctor could charge in a city, or one of the courts.

"Helping the living is my vocation. Speaking of which –" he turned to the blacksmith. "-I'd like to commission chains and some means of securing the victims, for the workroom. Unless they start taking their victims with them, there may be others with a chance to survive those attacks, and I could learn a great deal by attempting to save them. However, I can't risk them escaping and becoming a danger to the town and their families."

"Wouldn't they prefer to…"

"Despair is a sin," Father Andrew reminded them. "If a remedy is possible, it would help a great many people. Including you." After giving the speaker a meaningful look, he looked around to be certain that no one was going to argue with him, then turned to Dr. Frankenstein. "I'm not sure that you should use your home for this. All of your medicines are stored there, and it's one of the sturdiest buildings in town. The hardest to set alight, if the vampires grow bold enough to want a lair."

Frankenstein nodded. Like the church, it was of stone with slate shingles. There certainly was wood involved in the construction, but it was one of the most fire-proof buildings in town. "I've picked up patients from the jail." When they were sick enough for him to be called out to see if it was safe to move them. "There's no means of getting sunlight in there, and I'd prefer as much sunlight as possible." He saw them nod. "If windows need to be added to an existing room, I can make the glass. I'll attempt to make as much window glass as possible, although I'm afraid it won't be of very high quality." And a great many buildings wouldn't let windows be added after they were built, but if it could help even a few, it was worth spending some time on it. "I'm planning to distill scents as well – if there is anyone who can be spared who wishes to learn how, I would prefer it if I could instruct them and they could instruct anyone else who wishes to make their own. "

"Scents?" At a time like this? The man who interjected looked surprised – they hadn't thought he was any kind of a fop, despite coming from the city. He obeyed sumptuary laws, of course, but he disliked imperfections in his dress, and who would trust a doctor who dressed poorly?

"So the bestial ones don't go berserk smelling human prey, and it will be harder to track us in the woods," said one of the game hunters, nodding to Frankenstein. "Since their leader's smart, smelling garlic in the woods would be a dead giveaway that someone's hiding or there's a trap nearby. I'm sure the vampire hunters will appreciate it."

"Can't we lay a trap of our own? Put straw or something outside the wall, wait with fire arrows. If we don't look into their eyes-"

"And set fire to half the town?" the mayor demanded. "We need to fix that wall and lay in more firewood, if more people are going to be awake at night." Candles were in short supply.

"Fix the wall? They'll just smash it down again!"

Frankenstein eyed the wall and found space to lean against it, settling in for the long night. He might need to comment on the plans they made, even though his own military training was decades ago.

* * *

Unsurprisingly few people left with the messenger at first light. Frankenstein had a profession, but most of the townsfolk had never been to another town in their lives. Where could they go, where they would end up more than beggars or serfs?

There were hundreds of people in the town, and the vampires' master had kept them from killing the prey indiscriminately. Their odds of survival were far better if they remained, provided the hunters came quickly.

* * *

The vampires didn't come the next night, or the one after it. Some were relieved, but Frankenstein was among those who knew better. It meant they were hunting among the farms, building up their numbers. Giving time for a resistance to organize only made sense if they intended to crush that resistance. Get all the potential troublemakers out in the open, where the beasts could learn their scents.

Scent.

The entire house smelled of pine. Justine had redoubled her efforts to keep it clean, which he very much appreciated. She knew how seeing a mess bothered him, and he had more than enough bothering him now. The combination of worry and the stimulant mixes he was experimenting with for the sake of those who needed to be up all night were a little too likely to result in an episode if he saw something that bothered him. He needed to be able to think, not take refuge in obsessively cleaning or working on different preparations to try.

When the attack did come, and patients with it, enough he was forced to put some of them in the jail even though it hadn't been cleaned since the last batch of drunks was put there? Thankfully, when there was a patient in need, he was always too focused on them to care about other imperfections.

This need for everything to be exactly right could be an advantage when it came to caring for the living. A wound was far more _wrong_ than a handful of crumbs.

Still they died.

There were more wounds than just the broken arm this time. He treated everything he could, although he focused on the ones who had the most chance of survival. A few of them didn't last till dawn. Father Andrew and their families gave him permission to cut apart the victims and even take parts, especially samples of their humors. Normally that was forbidden, but when the bodies had to be cut apart regardless? There clearly were physical transformations involved, so if they could be cured or prevented…

After that, they trickled in by ones and twos, and he dreaded when it would be threes as the number of vampires increased…

"Dr. Frankenstein!" Justine called through the lab door. She always did knock first: he must have been too focused on the samples to hear it.

"Yes?"

"The hunters want to speak with you."

"The hunters? Already?" How many days _had_ it been? It took him a moment to remember, even though of course he'd been noting the days he took samples and made observations in his journals. That was just 'look at the previous entry and add one,' however.

The hunters were grateful for the scent essences, especially since there was a variety so they could avoid the beasts learning the scent of the preparation. They were willing to let him interview them and take notes when he couched in asking what else they thought might be useful – vampire hunting was a prosperous trade, so he had to be careful about enquiring into trade secrets.

It did make sense, of course: if _everyone_ knew all of the tricks, then they would be useless against vampires like the leader of the ones attacking the town. A known tactic could be guarded against, and given the strength of vampires, the hunters needed the advantages of surprise and intelligence.

* * *

Casualties were expected.

Vampires were _dangerous_. Their strength, speed? The rate at which they healed meant that even if they were wounded, it might not keep them down long enough for the hunters to make sure of them. The blacksmith had time to make up more heavy iron chains for the trap – he, like Frankenstein, was sleeping during the day to be awake at night in case they needed to escape. The mayor had stopped sleeping in his own manor to make it harder for them to find him, although as of yet there had been no attempt to behead the town leadership.

A town this size _needed_ a blacksmith to function, and so far they clearly wanted the town intact. The vampires seemed to prefer the young and strong. If the sickly possessed less potent blood, that would be a reason to spare the doctor as well.

It irked Frankentein that he was safe when others were not. He could leave, and they couldn't… Except no. He couldn't leave them.

His sword, once something he kept only because it was a mark of a gentleman and he needed patients of his own class and higher (much higher) to listen to him, was getting a hateful amount of use.

He should probably relearn it, at this rate.

Of course, it wouldn't matter unless he could match their speed and strength. Keep them from taking control of his mind.

…Weren't there legends of dhampires? The thought came to him as he sewed up a wound. Thankfully this was 'just' a slipped ax, during the rush to get in firewood.

Humans with physical abilities almost as strong as those of vampires, who were able to fight them effectively, even one-on-one? That was impossible for a normal person, of course. The stuff of legends.

If it was possible to become a vampire, perhaps it was possible to become a dhampire?

No, he couldn't risk it. Testing the stimulants and other preparations on himself was dangerous enough. The town needed his skills. He'd hidden the money in case the vampires raided his house, but the location would go to the mayor upon his death, but the tired made mistakes. The exhausted made mistakes, and with so many of the young and able-bodied prey to the vampires? There was so much work to be done.

They kept dying.

It was important for a doctor to accept that they would lose patients, but old age was one thing. This?

It was a general's duty to win the war, and keep his soldiers alive if it served that mission, but a doctor's duty was to save lives. He was making progress – he had improved remedies for blood loss, means of washing out the wounds, and still they died.

More hunters would arrive. He'd have better preparations, different scents and mixes of scents. Better treatments. The blacksmith kept making more of the specialized trap designs one of the hunters ordered from him.

Yet eventually the hunters stopped coming.

Stopped getting this far. The other towns were also being hunted, and most of them didn't have a vampire master, just stray beasts. There were others who needed saving. Other towns far easier to save.

He couldn't… he couldn't do _nothing_.

Madness to try to distill a serum from a vampire's body and transform himself just enough to become a dhampire and fight the vampires without becoming one of them, but when one of the vampires that attacked the town had retained their ability to think, and been able to overwhelm the minds of humans? Then becoming partially vampiric would have made him no _more_ vulnerable.

The risk wasn't really any greater than the risk posed by continuing to live in this town at all, and he couldn't abandon his patients.

* * *

He could sense them now.

That ability _alone_ would be a tremendous help to a hunter. He'd have to note it in the journal he was planning to send out to anyone who could use it.

Thank goodness he'd decided to use his herb-gathering expeditions as practice moving _quietly_. Not because he was trying to hunt, of course, but more because excess noise born of incompetence? No reason to disrupt the forest and scare away everyone else's game unnecessarily.

Obviously moving quietly through the woods while carrying a boar spear wasn't going to happen, but despite how far he could drive his sword into a block of wood now, he wasn't going to abandon all good sense and tactics. If he could use the methods of the vampire hunters, that would be preferable.

Strike from ambush, pin them in place so they could be taken apart. Everything else (other than tracking them) would only matter if he failed.

He was nowhere near strong enough to batter through a stone wall. Not yet. He'd reached the point where his capabilities could be a back-up plan, if he failed to manage the kill due to inexperience.

The town had reached the point where… Sometimes a patient kept fighting off a disease, until their reserves were exhausted. That point was coming.

The outlying farming villages were clearly almost drained of prey. Summer would be the lean season for vampires, as winter was for humans. So people stored food for the winter, and in winter that larder was _emptied_.

He needed to decrease their numbers. Their leader might be picky, might drive the ones too misshapen to serve out of the region, but without the hunters to cull them the amount of food, of _people_ they consumed per week would only grow.

A pity that his earlier scouting missions proved that the hunters had forced them to vary how they approached the village. There weren't any normal routes for him to booby-trap. He might be forced to…

No. He had to wait until conditions were optimal for the first test, or he'd just die uselessly. If testing his own medications had forced him to learn _anything_ , it was that failing to be careful, to take every precaution would be fatal. It was only because he was so obsessed with details that he could risk it at all.

…And yes, he did have a reckless streak, true, he acknowledged as he watched the ground carefully for branches. Challenging what everyone knew was always dangerous, _especially_ when it earned you wealth, clients and jealousy…

Why was it so quiet?

He stood still. Damnation. The vampire was scaring all the game away. With less noise in the forest, it would be harder for him to conceal his movements in the background.

If he could back away, circle around forward, hope the vampire would pass near one of the placed he'd stashed a boar spear during the day… And if he didn't get lucky, then he was going home and recording his observations on how accurately he'd sensed his location, he promised himself.

He hadn't climbed trees like this even when he was a boy, he thought as he swarmed up one of the ones he'd picked out. The pocket valley should confine the sound of his climb, so provided the vampire kept traveling in the same direction… Yes.

Twenty feet, not even counting down. Could he jump that far? Twenty-one. The grey-skinned beast, this one with hints of red and green veins, was moving away.

If it escaped, someone was going to die. It had been let loose to hunt. Someone was going to die.

* * *

Afterwards, he took stock.

Dirt and leaves all over his clothing – he'd avoided landing on the vampire, then rolled away from it. Blood. Sticky.

Broken shaft on the boarspear – that could be replaced. He hadn't so much removed it from the body as removed the body from around it.

The body of one vampire, torn up. None of the organs were anywhere near intact, not when he had to keep slashing at the stomach every time it twitched, while he tried to take off the head.

His pants were mainly intact, but the hard leather hadn't protected him or his chest at all.

Several wounds on his face and chest where it had swiped at him. They'd leave very impressive scars; he'd need to… _get out of here there's the smell of blood in the air._

Frankenstein _ran_. Not towards the town. He'd return when it reached daylight, and he wouldn't draw blood-starved vampires towards them.

Diving into a stream was the best way to get rid of the blood- it was also a trick foxes used to avoid hunting hounds. His clothes were already ruined, but with all the fires everywhere it wouldn't be much trouble to dry them, he thought, pausing for a moment by the edge of the stream to wring the water out of his hair.

Well, at least other doctors wouldn't be jealous of his _looks_ any… more…

He stared down into the water, reaching up to touch his face, feeling the unbroken skin.

The clawmarks on his face were gone. He didn't even have a black eye.

He knew his wounds hadn't closed immediately, not like a vampire would have recovered almost instantly from wounds that were trivial for one of the undead. But!

To close so easily!

What if some bit of dirt was in there, and the wounds closed around it! He couldn't even tell where they had been! He would have to wash immediately the next time he fought.

Trying to remain calm, to think of some downside, only barely succeeded in keeping him from exclaiming, from laughing out loud. If humans could heal like this?

…If it was possible to gain this ability without eventually losing one's humanity.

But… that this was even _possible…_ He couldn't even conceive of how many people would live who otherwise would have died. Even minor wounds could become infected and require the removal of an entire limb!

It hadn't really sunk in until now. Sensing the vampires was useful, the same with night vision. His speed and strength were still inferior to that of the vampires. Fighting was something he'd only begun to learn, back when he was much smaller and weaker. Now he was a man grown, so he'd known that it would be different.

Wounds and healing, he knew intimately. He knew how unnatural this was. Unnatural, yet wonderful! Even if he failed to keep his mind, even if he was killed by the vampires, if he could pass on this research the type of person who kept trying to make gold would pursue it. The all-healing panacea!

Was it sacrilege to call this miraculous, when he'd gained this ability through the study of vampires.

He had to get home _now_. He had to make note of this, be sure that all the details were recorded before a vampire could find him and take this knowledge from the world!

* * *

 _Medicine is 'the war against death,' and then goddamn vampires killing his patients._

 _In this time and place, having a doctor's treatment didn't improve your odds of survival much. If it didn't lower them. And cleanliness wasn't next to godliness, it was often taboo. If Frankenstein's patients were actually surviving, that might not have been as good for his own life expectancy as you might think._

 _Medieval European cites were 'death sinks,' with more people dying in them than were born. They only continued to function because of people moving in from outside for better lives, which, well, often true. Escaped serfs, etc. City inhabitants were far more likely to be free people instead of property, or as free as anyone got._

 _Frankenstein grew up in a chivalric culture, and I think he certainly absorbed those ideals, but there was this huge disconnect between the ideals that people were taught to live up to and actual practice. 'I'm superior therefore I'm allowed to abuse all those inferior/unpersons' is something that pisses him off to this day._

 _A pity the Union is 'why we can't have nice things' in Noblesse._


	2. Chapter 2

The bestial vampires were barely able to think beyond their hunger. They could pounce and swipe, track prey by scent, but they were easily confused. They must have lost all higher faculties with their souls.

It gave him an advantage against them. One he couldn't count on whenever their leader noticed the casualties, Frankenstein thought, examining his sword.

At least it wasn't a child's practice blade – he was given a new sword suited to his adult height when he finished his apprenticeship. Holding it up, the thought made him frown, and he measured it against his arm.

Was he… taller? Or perhaps there was some variation in the measurements between his set and the swordsmith's? He hadn't checked the sword's length before. He would have to start taking measurements. Did it have something to do with the increase in strength?

Shaking his head, he looked at the tree he'd first used as a practice dummy. Yes, he'd definitely have to practice outside of town. Everyone knew of dhampire and their effectiveness as vampire hunters, but his speed and strength were clearly inhuman and he hadn't been one before. They would worry, and the patient's trust was an important factor in a doctor's ability to help them.

Proper respect was _the_ most important factor, according to his teachers, although Frankenstein was beginning to suspect that keeping wounds clean and other practices of the legendary Moorish doctors were even better for patient recovery.

It was exactly that kind of heretical opinion which could be used to back up accusations motivated by jealousy, he thought as he swung, practicing another set of blows. By competition. If he hadn't been warned… He didn't think he could ever understand how reputation and prestige could be considered more important than human life. He could attempt to keep his techniques secret, but that would just inspire the curious to investigate, as well as competitors wanting his techniques.

If he survived. If he ever could go back to being a doctor in a city, when he hadn't even cleaned out one vampire nest and there were more of them, all over the countryside.

Tactically, the fact he was killing every vampire who came in reach of the town was foolish. It had to reveal to the vampires' master that the town had hunters again. Effective ones. He might not mind that for now, when it kept stray members of his flock from destroying the larder – he'd clearly ordered them only to hunt what they needed, but if the town wasn't making sure to cover up the scent of human blood, at least one of them would have gone into a frenzy by now.

But eventually, effective hunters would have to be dealt with before the town became too fortified to serve as a larder. Or before any new techniques could be spread.

That thought made him grin. The ability to sense the beasts! Being able to find them where they hid during the day? Not that he'd managed to eliminate more than two that way. The majority of them had taken refuge in a den that used to belong to wild boar, according to one of the town's hunters. It had clearly been expanded, using the inhuman strength of the vampires. Any vampire would dig, but ordinary vampires didn't seem intelligent enough to create a larger place sheltered from the sun, where they would be able to move and fight if anyone tried to enter during the day. The removed dirt and stone were even being used to create something resembling fortifications! So much for them moving into one of the town's buildings, one that could be easily burned or collapsed around them.

The vampires' leader clearly knew something of tactics and fortifications, and he had a sword.

There were stories of members of the nobility being corrupt enough to turn into vampires. They were often the origins of these plagues.

He could _hope_ this was merely an underling, but the vampires who sold their souls to the devil directly instead of being turned by others were known to have powers far beyond speed, strength and mesmerization.

A kick sent the tree crashing down. Hmm. Pick another tree, to practice blows at man-height, or chop this one up so it was easier to move once it had some time to dry? They still needed massive amounts of firewood.

Practice. Ambush was still the ideal, but no battle plan survived contact with the enemy.

* * *

He wasn't the only one who could plan an ambush, he realized later, hearing the sound of clapping behind him as he stood over the vampire he'd just killed. He didn't wait to hear if there was an address or challenge.

He'd sensed two places where vampires were moving towards the town: he'd picked the target after feeling the other group separate out enough to reveal there were two of them. Three, it seemed. He could curse himself for taking a risk later, what mattered was the pressure against his mind. He'd experienced it before, if rarely – the point of attempting ambush was to kill them before they could try to use their powers.

The obvious tactic was _running_. Hope they were seperated while chasing after him, so he could deal with one at a time. Of course, that was if the hunting hounds outpaced the master. They were arranged in a triangle, and he was running towards the side that _should_ have two beasts on the corners, away from the master, so he could hope.

No, he realized, ducking to avoid a lunge. He'd just killed one vampire, and the scent of blood was still on him. They'd frenzied.

Should have gone towards the master vampire, hope the blood might make _him_ berserk. Eliminate or reduce the advantage his intelligence gave him? If the vampires attacking the town lost their master, the town's chances would be better than if Frankenstein died taking one of the others with him.

Or none of them.

Metal was still stronger than even vampiric flesh, and his increased strength made it much easier to create and maintain a decent edge on the blade. He stabbed up at the one who had lunged at him, aiming for the relatively soft belly so it would take _some_ time to heal.

His other hand dug around on the forest floor for a branch, but no luck. If he'd stayed by the vampire he was killing when ambushed, he could have picked up the broken shaft of the boar spear.

He shifted his dodge, rolling towards the spear that still impaled his kill instead, and only then realized that definitely left him in the center of the triangle.

A check with his new sense confirmed that the vampire he had ambushed was dead, but also that the vampires' master hadn't moved. Watching the show?

Either the vampires' master wasn't as practical a tactician as all that, or he was supremely confident. Normally, a single hunter versus two maddened vampires, at close range like this? They were dead. If he'd seen Frankenstein's ambush, though, he already knew he was dealing with a dhampire (albeit an imitation one).

What was important was that for the moment it was only two against one, and he needed to use that before it became three against one. He risked getting close enough to grab the pole, and cast it at the vampire he'd disemboweled as the other one rushed him.

He ducked his head down but let the vampire rush onto his sword, blood-frenzied and stupid with it. It tried to lean forward and snap at his back, but not before he pinned it to a tree. That left him without his sword.

The other vampire was still able to move around, even with the pole through him. Frankenstein had missed the spine, but his speed and strength kept changing so his aim was perpetually off. He'd grown used to it and hadn't counted on a square hit.

Again, what mattered was enough organ damage, tearing the head off and casting it away. He couldn't spare the time to make more sure of it than that; he needed the pole so he could tear his sword out of the other one, stab the pole forward in its place, and chop the vampire's head off.

A kick to its stomach, crushing what lay within, and he turned as their master finally moved, drawing a sword of his own.

Another vampire was watching from the bushes, he sensed, but no time to formulate any kind of new strategy now. There must be a reason it hadn't frenzied and joined the fight: an order from the master? In that case, he had to hope that he could kill the master before it released the vampire to strike at his back. If it did, then he was lost.

He was facing a swordsman with real experience, he knew as he barely managed to block the first strike. Stronger, and faster. A swipe at his knee surprised him while he was still knocked out of position by another attack, and sent him falling to the ground.

Frankenstein expected a follow-up strike and tried to duck under it even as he got to his feet, but he looked up in time to see that instead of bring the blade down on him, the vampire was holding it to his face.

Blood, he realized, as the dark-bearded man smiled at him.

And licked the blade.

Fire in his veins sent him crashing to the ground, but he managed to fling his hands out.

He would _not_ kneel, he told himself, as that pressure clawed at his mind, trying to find purchase. Like water on a roof if rain were acid, trying to find its way inside. A great beast trying to swallow him whole.

 _An enemy just standing there looking at him_ , he realized, and _moved_.

It was only when he'd crushed not just the master's head but made certain of the other two vampires that he remembered he'd sensed yet another vampire.

It wasn't where he'd sensed it, so it must have been freed to move at its master's death if not before. Then why had it not attacked him? The beasts weren't smart enough to run, even after seeing their master killed. Not when there was all that blood to send them into a frenzy.

A second thinking vampire. And it had seen him. It knew what he could do. Perhaps it would take the surviving beasts and leave the area, abandon the other vampire's larder plan. Unless it was the one truly giving the orders?

* * *

Several months later, Frankenstein leaned against a tree and allowed himself a sigh of weary relief when he saw the predawn light in the sky. There would be no more vampire attacks tonight.

Not that there had been any tonight, or for the past few nights, but it was getting into winter and the nights were growing longer. Now would be the perfect time for vampires to move between the villages, to choose which village they wished to prey on during the season of their strength.

Still, he was _certain_ that while he managed to kill what he'd thought was the last of that nest three nights ago, another vampire had watched him, yet vanished instead of moving to assist its brethren. Just like the one that watched when he fought the master of the first vampires to attack the town.

Sensible, of course: he couldn't expect human sentiment from something that abandoned humanity and saw people only as prey. Another vampire dead was more food for the survivor.

Yet the way that vampire had almost flickered, how he'd sensed it for only a moment before it… ran away? Hid itself again? Was it merely a matter of retreating into the trees or could the vampires hide from his ability to detect them?

He needed more data.

The reinforced chains the blacksmith had made for him _might_ make it safe to collect that data, but what if any one of a number of legends about their abilities were true? He would be taking his life into his hands allowing one of the fiends to live. Not that he wasn't doing that already. The ones that could speak were stronger.

"Well," he said, watching the dawn glow on the horizon. "Time to get back home and let them see I'm still alive."

His house was positioned overlooking the rest of the town protectively. It was pleasingly appropriate, for what used to be a noble manor. A pity about the size: he'd been forced to let the staff go, because it wasn't safe when real vampires were no respecters of thresholds. He could have barred off some of the rooms, given himself less to clean, but who knew what might be hiding in there? He had to check each of them before he went to sleep every day, and then he'd see the dust.

The town was already beginning to wake up as the night watchman passed him through the gates, the townsfolk sensibly making use of every scrap of sunlight they had.

There were quite a few respectful nods and, "Morning, Dr. Frankenstein."

As usual, he made a point of hiding how tired he was. If he moved slowly they might think he was injured again, and that meant there were still vampires out there to injure him. Even if he'd taken it down, the fact that another vampire had come to this village would not be a good sign.

"Ah, Doctor!" the baker said, skirts swishing as she came to meet him. "I'm just coming from your house; I dropped off some things there."

"Thank you."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, not when you had to let our youngest go temporarily for her sake." Leaving him without a cook. Putting Justine on half-pay in exchange for the delivery of hot meals meant she was home to help her family. With much of the town's strong youths gone, there simply wasn't the time for every household to cook its own food if they wanted to get the harvest in. Communal meals freed up hands for other work. "Mind you get enough sleep, now."

"That depends on how many patients I have waiting for me." He gave her a dazzling smile.

The baker had to hurry off: this was the busiest time for her. It was a sign of the town's gratitude that she made the delivery herself.

Fortunately there wasn't anything this morning that required his personal attention, just a few people picking up pills and tonics. The tonic he'd concocted to help keep him awake at night and enhance his energy was in high demand, with the townsfolk and farmers trying to get every ounce of work done they could during the day.

The trouble with it was that over-exertion could leave the user as prone to making mistakes as sleepiness. It had been almost half a year now since he gave the first attempt at that potion to one of the hunters, in the hope it would help. By now everyone knew to be careful, that their axes might go deeper into the wood than they thought. If it weren't for the desperate pleas of the farmers and woodsmen he might have refused to give it to anyone but the hunters. Once he ended up with more townsfolk than hunters on the pallets set up in his spare rooms, desperate to get wood in for the watchfires.

Fortunately, the fact it seemed to react terribly with more than a little alcohol was enough to discourage overuse.

"Sorry for the trouble, sir," one of the young ladies said, blushing.

"It's no trouble at all," he assured her, handing her the small green bottle with a smile. By now, he didn't need to tell them that he'd need that back – he didn't have the time to make his own equipment anymore.

She retreated quickly, saying something about not wanting to use up any more of his time when she would hopefully be the last for the day, unless an emergency forced them to wake him. The string of garlic swung and made a soft thunk against the door after it closed.

There wasn't much to enter in his journal, just the normal details of the patrol route, the concoctions he'd used, the effects he'd noticed.

Much of it had to be in code, despite the risk an error in the decoding could distort the data. Even though the town's priest was as desperate to save the people he cared for as the town's now-only-part-time doctor, the details of some of those experiments…

He shouldn't be glad that he'd woken up to someone with a minor injury last night, but he'd confirmed something valuable.

The scent of blood didn't attract him.

Yet, he cautioned himself.

With luck, the vampires wouldn't return, and he could refrain from taking any more chances by experimenting with vampiric blood and just could observe the long-term effects of what he'd already done to himself.

If what he'd done damaged his humanity or ability to resist temptation? Not that he was exposed to very much temptation currently: there was little money left in the village, and he was too tired for pleasures of the flesh. Pride was always a risk, but when what consumed his existence was awareness of his own weakness and how much he didn't know?

How much his lack of knowledge could cost the town, that had already lost so many people.

With winter coming on, the empty houses were filling up. People desperate for a roof over their heads, people afraid of vampires attacking their own towns who wanted to live under the protection of even an amateur hunter?

Neighboring towns. The thought of that dimmed the tentative hope that this might be over soon as he cleaned his gear. He hadn't managed to kill all the ones who beset this town: some of them had fled to other towns, or _returned_ to them. It would be far more efficient if he could move to those towns, exterminate those nests, but that would leave this town unguarded, and if he was ambushed on the road?

True, he could cover ground quicker now, but he hesitated to overuse those abilities. They hadn't _yet_ made him hungry for anything but normal food (he was ravenous after a night when he found a vampire and wasn't able to lure it into a trap, or it tore the trap apart, but anyone would be), but he did not intend to take that chance.

Preparations made for tonight made and rooms checked, he finally collapsed into bed.

* * *

Some time later, he surfaced from sleep enough to sense people nearby.

Some of the town's women must have come in to clean again. Honestly, he very much did appreciate it, and they knew to stay out of his lab by now.

Frankenstein had always been very particular about having everything clean and in its place. He worried that those tendencies were growing worse. Was it simply the human need to have control over _something_ , when one was forced to abandon one's sane, comfortable life by monsters, or were these obsessive tendencies a sign that the vampiric essence was beginning to affect his mind?

Seeds spilled on the floor _bothered_ him, but if he experienced the urge to count them, _then_ he would worry.

He slept with the blankets drawn over his head so that he could leave the window uncovered without the sunlight waking him up. Safer that way, even though it could get rather warm under there if he misjudged the necessary number of blankets. Not so much today, and in the thin winter sunlight it might only be enough to reduce the need for warming bricks.

Someone opening the door to his room drew an inarticulate noise of complaint: shouldn't they know better by now? He was too tired to care enough to rouse himself further – when, after all, the entire purpose was to _not wake him up_.

Very quiet voices. Male. An accident most likely, then, and they were trying to decide whether or not to wake him.

The presences didn't leave the house, but they didn't disturb him, either. Relieved, he relaxed and gave himself over fully to sleep. If it wasn't urgent, the patient would be there in the evening.

* * *

When he woke, he threw his doctor's coat over his clothes instead of dressing in his hunting gear before he stepped out of his room onto the landing. If they were there for another reason, it was a much more civilized way to greet guests than to come downstairs armed and ready to kill. It was unnecessary, when it was still light out.

"The Lord awaits you in the dining room."

Frankenstein whirled to face his left.

He saw a strange man dressed in a black coat with a very high collar. It was oddly plain for material of that quality, save for gold-colored piping around the edges. The man also wore a black cloth mask fitted to cover his neck and the lower third of his face – mouth, but not nose. Two locks of blond hair fell on either side of his face, but the remainder was drawn back severely into a high ponytail. Frankenstein saw the end of it waving behind the man's back.

Perhaps it was moved by the wind of his movement – how had he just appeared there so quickly?

Seeing Frankenstein examining him, the man gave the doctor a formal nod and then vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.

The difference was that this time, Frankenstein was looking directly at him when it happened.

On the one hand, clear evidence of supernatural abilities. On the other, there was a lord downstairs, and while Frankenstein wasn't a peasant and doctor was a position of some status, lords still did not like to be kept waiting.

His gaze was drawn to the window at the end of the hall, one of several the carpenter had installed. Whoever that was, they had no trouble with sunlight.

Thankfully, being forewarned he had guests, even a patient, he'd taken care with his appearance. Everyone in town knew the Doctor was very precise about such things. When _he'd_ appeared exhausted and disheveled during the worst parts of the siege, it certainly hadn't done anything for morale.

He _hoped_ that wasn't an excuse in the service of vanity, but he thought he was presentable enough to greet a lord, at least by the standards of a town like this. It wasn't as though they were at the Imperial Court!

…Was he being summoned to that court, or another? He'd expected some kind of recognition – more likely when he was of minor gentry than a common vampire hunter – and he'd hoped to get the town granted to him, since otherwise finding the coin to pay taxes and rent was going to be a problem. If there was no reduction in the upcoming payment owed by the town's inhabitants, then Frankenstein would have no choice but to see if any of the surrounding towns could afford to pay him for vampire hunting. Those people did need help, but forcing the issue, when he'd sensed…

A presence that appeared and disappeared, he finally remembered, hands on the door to the dining room.

Focusing on that uncanny power, he sensed presences on the other side of the door, but even if they were strange, there was no hunger to them. Interest, at the most.

Not _human,_ but if they lacked the uncanny hunger of vampires, could they be something else?The presence that night he'd sensed too briefly to know if it had hungered or not, had it also been this something else?

Well, he wasn't going to stand around like a coward in his own home. He began to turn the handle, and walked in.

* * *

 _Nobles can sense the souls of other nobles._

 _Before Frankenstein contracts with Rai, even a random Central Order Knight can tell he's human if they take a look instead of assuming a human wouldn't have powers like that._

 _M-24 didn't sense Frankenstein, only Rai (early hint Frankenstein's not a noble, although honestly on our side of the fourth wall most readers were probably assuming human or artificial human/experiment subject anyway), but pureblood nobles like Raskreia and Seira can't immediately tell Frankenstein is human. This is probably because they met him after he contracted with Rai. M-24 likely wasn't powerful enough to pick up on the contract, while Raskreia and Seira can feel traces of Rai's power from Frankenstein. Neither of them has knowingly met a bonded human before, so they wouldn't know that's what they're sensing._

 _Seira has also spent relatively large amounts of time around Kertia, so of course she'd be aware that nobles concealing their auras to go undetected is a thing. Frankenstein's even got wavy blond hair, so he could very well have been a rogue Kertia ignoring whatever unwritten rule (or actual law?) is responsible for a race of shapeshifters all having red eyes._

 _Even if Frankenstein managed to enhance himself with the ability to detect the traces of noble power in vampires, they still wouldn't detect Frankenstein. He's not using the power of a noble's soul, so all they'd sense from him is human._

 _However, a Kertia scout who saw him using superhuman abilities would know that the purebloods are accounted for, and even Kertia can't hide their auras_ that _well without Kartas. Werewolves aren't psychic, so that's easy to rule out._

 _According to the Ninth Elder (who, while he is an idiot, has studied this kind of thing), humans and nobles handle energy very differently. Which may be why humans transferring/channeling noble energy goes wrong eventually, come to think of it._


	3. Chapter 3

_NaNo is going well, at least in terms of wordcount, so I decided to take the time to edit this. Thanks to darkicedragon for betaing the fic!_

* * *

There was a man with long, blond hair seated at the head of his table. Despite the simplicity of his clothing, it was of high quality. His bearing immediately identified him as nobility, if not royalty: here was someone who had never even considered the idea of bowing down to anyone. He was flanked on both sides by retainers who stood facing their lord. One was an older gentleman, hair mostly gone to white, with something resembling a priest's stole over his black cloak. On his other side stood the similarly-cloaked man who had informed Frankenstein of his lord's presence.

Seen in profile, that man had _pointed ears_. Not ones as dramatic as in some fanciful illustrations: they could certainly pass for a human's ears in the eyes of a layman, but Frankenstein had detailed knowledge of human anatomy.

Frankenstein had a moment to relax before the elf's lord greeted him. "So, you're the Doctor Frankenstein I've heard so much about?"

"Yes, Lord…?" He bowed, mind racing. Having his humble home visited by elves was better than vampires, of course, but no less dangerous. Elves, especially elf-lords, were every bit as touchy as human nobility, and their idea of the proper courtesies and the rules that must be followed to avoid giving fatal offense were different from human ones.

As for the white-haired man, he might not have pointed ears, but many types of elves and other spirits did not. From what little Frankenstein could sense without attempting to pry into the other's mind, he might have thought a dwarf if it was not for the elf's considerable height. Some other kind of spirit of the earth?

The dark-haired man who stood by one of the windows, looking out into the herb garden, was shorter and slighter than the other three. He did not wear the same cloak even if his clothing was of a similar fabric and style. A youth? Not that one could be sure when elves could live for ages.

Was he standing watch, or simply enjoying the sunlight? Either way, Frankenstein thought as the young man turned briefly to acknowledge his presence before looking back to the window, it was reassuring to see one of his visitors seek out the sunlight instead of simply tolerating it. It was a good sign that they weren't anything accursed.

"My name?" The elf-lord smiled. "Everyone just calls me Lord. It's been so long I've forgotten what my name used to be. These two who insisted on coming with me are-" He gestured for them to introduce themselves.

"Ragar Kertia, Head of the Kertia Clan," said the blond elf, with a slight bow of acknowledgement.

"Gejutel K. Landegre, Head of the Landegre Clan," said the old man. "He is the Lord, who rules over all the Nobles. Be sure to show him the proper courtesies." He gave Frankenstein a warning look.

"Why should he?" the Lord wondered. "The Doctor is a human. I don't rule over humans." He smiled pleasantly, but there seemed to be a message there, one he expected the other elf to take note of. "As for him," he gestured at the window. "That guy is Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, the Noblesse."

The dark-haired man – he did resemble a youth – turned away from the window again long enough to give Frankenstein a dignified nod before turning back. He seemed fascinated by the herb garden. Not that a fascination with plants helped narrow what he was down much, either.

Frankenstein had learned to avoid making eye contact dealing with vampires. Even now he had some ability to fight them off, or even force them to be the ones to stand frozen when they sought to mesmerize him for the killing blow, but it was still a risk and a mental battle would leave him open to attack from a second vampire.

It might be respectful to keep his eyes lowered, but it rankled to show more fear or submission to an inhuman being than necessary, so he raised his eyes to meet the Lord's.

Red.

Red, but the inverse of a vampire's eyes. In the bodies of vampires he'd examined, the scalera and the pupil turned an often-glowing red, while the iris itself turned as pitch black as the pupil should have been. The Lord's scalera and pupil seemed normal, at least as far as he could tell without an actual examination, but it was the iris that glittered ruby.

The first one – Ragar Kertia – had turned back to the Lord and had his eyes closed respectfully, so Frankenstein could not see the color of his eyes. Or perhaps he had his eyes closed so he could focus on his other senses? He seemed to have the attentiveness of a bodyguard, and one who could approach Frankenstein without detection would be well-suited to counter assassins who might have similar powers.

A moment's examination confirmed that Gejutel's eyes were also red.

"May I ask why you have done me the honor of this visit?" Frankenstein said, hoping he'd hidden his suspicion.

"I wanted an excuse to drag Raizel out of his house," the Lord responded cheerfully, ignoring how Gejutel looked put-upon for a moment. "There's always something fascinating going on in the human world, so I told Ragar to have his family look around for anything interesting… and they found an epidemic of mutants. So I told him to hurry up and have them exterminated."

"Mutants?" Like how an ewe might sometimes give birth to a two-headed lamb?

"They're the 'vampires' that you know about," the Lord said, almost offhand.

"…that I know about?" Implying that there were others, or other varieties. "Forgive me, but may I ask you for clarification?"

The Lord smiled, seeming pleased not so much by Frankenstein's inquiry but the fact he had made one at all. "Some nobles sell power to humans, in exchange for drinking some of the human's blood so the human has to do whatever the noble wants. Those humans drink the blood of other humans and can control them and give them power, but before long doing something so disgusting corrupts the power and the soul, and turns the poor humans into mutants who hunger for blood. A noble disobeying the law and doing something like that… how dare they." It earned them the wrath of their liege. "Mutants are also more powerful than ordinary humans, and for the strong to attack the weak makes them unworthy of that power. It is an offense against the symbol of Power, so they need to be wiped from the face of the earth to defend the honor of the nobles."

An offense against the Lord?

Cadis Etrama di Raizel had turned away from the window now, frowning. Ragar remained stoic, but despite an elder's reserve, Gejutel looked disgusted by the thought that people were sinking so low.

"So, like I said, I ordered Ragar here to have the Kertia eliminate the mutants, except for a few who could be interrogated by the Central Order Knights so we could uncover the criminals. While they were out hunting, one of the Kertia found a human _without_ power from any noble, fighting those mutants on an even footing. A human who gained power like that on their own and was using it to protect other humans? I had to meet someone like that, and I told Raizel that there were still mutants running around killing humans here, so he had to come."

"The humans here seem to think very highly of you," Gejutel spoke. "Even though you seek power, you haven't been using it to seize power over those weaker than you. They worry that you are protecting them at your own expense."

"It reminds me of before the Previous Lord made Lukedonia and ordered everyone to move there," the Lord reflected. "It's natural for humans to flock around someone stronger who wishes to protect them, and to want to show their gratitude to that person. During my childhood, one could judge a noble by the humans that chose that noble's home as the place for their camp at a certain time of year. If you were a noble, my mother would have scolded you for accepting so many of their gifts, lest they come to think that they were not entitled to protection unless they paid tribute. You are also using the power available to you to heal them, even if you're using medicines made with human knowledge instead of contracts." The Lord smiled at him, cheerful and approving enough Frankenstein found it somehow annoying. "If you weren't a human, I would have to force you back to Lukedonia. It was not good for the humans to depend on us instead of depending on themselves. Why, it's only been a few tens of thousands of years since we left, and look how much stronger humans have become!"

Gejutel cleared his throat. "Lord, while he has fought multiple mutants according to the humans here, his power is only barely a match for a single mutant. Between the mutants and the werewolves, it's clear we still can't leave humans to their own devices."

The Lord's eyes narrowed; displeased, but not by Gejutel. "Inspections of the outside world have been too infrequent. Werewolves have often been ruling areas for decades before the Central Order Knights _finally_ notice and clear them out, and even if humans forget quickly, for enough untrue contracts to be made to produce this many mutants in less than a century… Well!" He said, seemingly in good cheer again. "That's why it makes much more sense for Raizel to stay here for now, while we track down the individuals behind this."

Were werewolves and mutants not the same thing? They were according to the legends, but they were not always correct.

"Yet I wonder how much longer humans will remain those we have to protect," the Lord mused. "The gulf in power between a human and a mutant is significant. Perhaps eventually there will even be human Clan Leaders!"

Gejutel stared at his Lord. "Human… clan leaders?"

What was so mind-boggling to this Gejutel about a human being his equal? If they called themselves nobles, then were all humans peasants to them, considered mentally inferior? Good only for laboring to serve their masters?

But the Lord spoke of _not_ being owed a tithe, or taxes for protection. So Frankenstein could hope that they were not interested in having humans to work their fields?

Or humans to feed upon.

Yet this business of 'contracts…' "If I may ask something?"

"Go ahead." The Lord leaned forward, looking interested to hear his question.

"What is a contract?"

Gejutel gave him a suspicious and affronted look, while Ragar opened his eyes for a moment to look at Frankenstein, somewhat shocked. The Lord raised his hand. "Of course he's not asking for one." He told Frankenstein that, "A contract is nothing like being mutated, or at least it's not supposed to be. We don't go around sucking blood – that's just gross." From his expression, he agreed with Frankenstein that it was disgusting. "A contract is when two people consent to be bound together, blood and soul, for as long as they both live. Of course, it's usually the human who dies first, so contracts definitely weren't something to do lightly. Having part of your soul ripped away when they die hurts," he said, wincing.

"In the Previous Lord's time, we did it to give humans we liked the ability to protect themselves and their fellow humans. They could pass on this power to others, but their ability to perform the ritual correctly was less than a noble's. So passed from human to human the power gradually became corrupted, and human generations are so short. Then the first mutant was born. It was shocking that this could happen, so the humans were warned to be careful with making contracts with each other so it didn't happen again. At least." The Lord's eyes narrowed again. "Accidents and desperation were the original origin of mutants."

Ragar bowed. "I am waiting on one of my assassins to find a surviving mutant so I can personally confirm the reports, Lord."

"Let's all go. It will be informative. Oh." The Lord snapped his fingers. "Don't kill the mutant, Raizel."

"Lord," Gejutel said, sounding put-upon again. "I'm sure the Noblesse knows there's no need to waste his power on such a small thing as a mutant when there are two Clan Leaders present."

"Exactly," The Lord agreed. "Even if that mutant _is_ as powerful as someone a noble made a contract with personally."

Gejutel blinked. "You think those reports are true?"

"My clan would not resort to lying about the strength of the opposition to excuse their tardiness," said the one with pointed ears, opening his eyes again. Yes, red.

"Of course not, Ragar, but the idea that nobles would _deliberately_ create mutants? To have one's own soul connected to a mutant, and be aware of them doing such disgraceful things?"

"If there is corruption of that kind among the nobles? They have forfeited the right to exist." The Lord's tone of condemnation vanished as he turned towards the black-haired youth to say, "See? Of course I didn't call you out of that stuffy house for nothing."

Raizel turned to bow and say, "Yes, Lord." Perfectly respectful, even if there was a note in the air that said the Lord hadn't done it for nothing _this time_.

This mention of _souls_ , when elves didn't have them? Yet according to some they could earn them through a century of good deeds. Did that have anything to do with Raizel's purpose here?

Frankenstein tried to focus on what he could sense from them again, even if he couldn't trust an uncanny power that might ultimately have come from beings like them. They had to know how to wield it better than he did, and if Frankenstein had started studying it to devise a countermeasure in the first place, then of course they would have developed their own countermeasures.

Gejutel still felt like a mountain, solid and eternal, save for the sense that rocks and snow were piled up to the point that there might be an avalanche, if the mountain spirit was offended. Not by the familiar irritation of the contrast between his seriousness and the Lord's refusal to take his position seriously, but by the idea that one of his kind might have done something so disgusting as deliberately turning humans into vampires.

 _Rats_ like that?

Eliminate. Exterminate: those were the words they were using.

Frankenstein quite agreed, if it was true.

Ragar Kertia had that same sense of stillness and serenity, but it came from discipline, not age. At least, not as much. He was a very calm, serene, _dust devil_. A dervish whirling in place, a spirit of the air and constant motion, a snake poised to strike, but all that motion contained, channeled, waiting for his lord's command.

They were easy enough, but for some reason what he sensed from the other two bothered him. He forced himself to focus on it, beginning with Raizel so he did not risk offending the Lord if the Lord sensed his prying.

Raizel was _injured_. While the others radiated power, Raizel leaked it. Frankenstein had no doubt that since he had entered Frankenstein's home, Raizel had already lost more life-force than a human possessed.

There was a knock at his door, and Ragar vanished after a brief nod to the Lord.

Frankenstein ignored it. "Are you alright?" he asked Raizel, worried as always by a patient with a condition he hadn't seen before and had no knowledge of how to treat.

It took a moment for Raizel to acknowledge the question by turning around. "I am fine," Raizel said, with a reserved expression before turning back to the window.

 _No you're not,_ Frankenstein knew. He'd seen too many proud young men trying to hide their wounds since this began. He'd seen too many of them bleed out and die, trying to make sure others were treated before them.

"More tribute?" Gejutel wondered when Ragar appeared with a bowl.

"Humans need food, especially if they are exerting themselves or getting injured," the Lord chided him.

Ragar held the bowl out to Frankenstein. "I am informed that it should be eaten fresh."

Apples with honey and beaten cream? Yes, before the apples browned and the whole thing turned into even _more_ of a sticky mess.

Frankenstein hid a wince. That would be his former cook. After he forgot too many meals absorbed in studies or patient treatment, she'd hit on ways to make _sure_ he ate all of it up, just to get the mess waiting to happen out of his house before it didhappen. Books were _expensive_ , and then he'd discovered what keeping the treatment room clean did to how likely his patients were to develop infections.

He was torn between several considerations. The knowledge that he had people in his home and that came with certain obligations. The desire to see if these beings could eat real food, which _might_ mark a difference between them and vampires. Elves were supposed to like sweets, and it would be useful to, at minimum, not offend them by being a poor host.

Yet how was he going to make them wash their hands afterwards before they touched anything else?

He fixed a smile on his face, took the bowl and set it down on the table. "You are guests in my home, so why don't you have some while I fetch something to drink?" he asked them, gaze lingering on Raizel's back for a moment.

When Raizel did not respond, Frankenstein's eyes narrowed and he felt himself _shove_.

It didn't make much of an impact on the field of power around Raizel, but Frankenstein saw the young man straighten and turn to look at him, a flash of puzzlement behind his reserved expression.

He smiled at Raizel and indicated the bowl.

So it wasn't just his imagination: he actually _had_ done something when he wanted the young noble to listen to doctor's orders. Wonderful. Now he had to worry that he might be using vampiric mind control on recalcitrant patients.

There was more food than usual by the hearth to keep warm: so the town had noticed he had guests. It was obvious they were nobility from the quality of their clothes and the way they carried themselves.

It would make sense for the town to put its best foot forward if these were visiting human nobility, out of pride and hope for aid both, and he appreciated that they wanted to help him make as good an impression on his guests as was possible when he lacked servants. He was certain his old cook had come by partially to volunteer so he didn't have to embarrass himself by serving as waitstaff.

Being met by Ragar might have put her in a difficult position, since she wouldn't want to call attention to him not having any servants currently. No wonder she'd left quickly, confronted with a strange noble she might offend.

Good. He didn't know if he could trust these people, so he'd rather not have the villagers around them.

If they were behind the vampires that plagued the town, then they wouldn't _deserve_ to eat their food when they'd already taken too many of their young men and women.

Life. If it was 'life and soul' they were after, then the vampires' targets made sense! Predators would pick off the sick and weak, but the young had their lives ahead of them.

He smiled when he saw the mulled wine over the fire, and opened it. Cider, to go with the apples. Spiced, and he could detect that some of them were imported and thus scarce even before trade in the area ceased. Drinking this would let him keep a clear head.

Fetching wine from the cellar he didn't mind. All of it _he_ had either bought or made, so it was his to waste, if he discovered it was a waste.

He returned to the dining room to find it transformed.

A cloth finer than samite on the table, golden plates, bowls, spoons and goblets. Knives of fine steel. A golden serving spoon in the bowl of apples and cream, the mere pottery now sticking out like a sore thumb.

Ah, of course, he thought, relieved.

Even human nobility travelled with their own supplies, knowing that a rustic inn wouldn't have accommodations suitable for them. These beings might be related to the vampires in some way, but they were still fey. Of course an elf-lord would travel with brownies and other household sprites capable of effecting such a transformation unnoticed.

The dark-haired elf had a cloth napkin of the same fabric as the tablecloth protecting his clothing as he carefully cut off a bite-sized piece of apple with the side of the spoon and brought it to his lips. Somehow he managed to make eating a gooey dish that amounted to candy look elegant.

It looked as though he'd arrived in the middle of the Lord forcing Gejutel to sit. Gejutel was clearly discomforted by the idea of sitting in the presence of his leige even when his Lord was seated, as was Cadis Etrama di Raizel. Ragar remained standing by his lord's side. The reason why he escaped being forced to sit was explained when as soon as Gejutel begrudgingly sat, Ragar instantly appeared at his side to spoon some of the apple concoction into a small bowl in a single, graceful movement, without even coming close to spilling a drop on that tablecloth.

So he would have a member of the nobility, be it vampire or elf, serving as waiter?

A smile touched Frankenstein's lips. He might, in fact, be able to get used to this.

It was a mark in their favor, at least Ragar's. While supposedly it was going against heaven for someone to act _above_ their station, if they were even capable of doing the things reserved for their betters, it was a mark of humility for a knight to do tasks, like attending to his own horse and gear, that were normally the domain of their inferiors.

For Frankenstein to act as a servant in his own home was one thing, and it would have reflected badly on him for a noble guest to be forced to do servant's work, but the Lord was _Ragar's_ Lord. A Lord was expected to travel with their own, superior staff. If the smiling blond at the head of the table decided to have a Clan Leader serve as his page, that had nothing to do with Frankenstein.

Ragar appeared at Frankenstein's side next and Frankenstein was willing to hand him the wine bottles, which were clearly labeled. He went to set the carafe of mulled cider next to the place setting that was not yet taken when he noticed the seating arrangement. So Raizel's rank was superior to Gejutel's?

Pouring himself some of the mulled cider, Frankenstein poured the same in Raizel's goblet while the Lord was exclaiming over the fruit used for one of the bottles of homemade wine.

If Raizel didn't want to be treated like a child, then he shouldn't have told a transparent lie to a doctor.

Frankenstein's back stiffened. The Lord was watching him.

What he'd felt from him matched that smile of approval, but he seemed to have the Lord's interest.

That might be a very bad thing. Not that he'd expected to die peacefully after deciding to stay in this region while the vampire attacks went on.

The Lord was a sea of flame. Not hellfire, at least that was how it seemed, but hearthfire. He wasn't burning Frankenstein to ashes where he stood, but that was because the Lord was restraining that power. So instead of annihilating, it warmed.

Or perhaps a desert like those he'd read about, sun-warmed golden sands stretching in every direction. That sounded like it would feel wonderful after far too many dark, damp nights hunting vampires. A place where there was nowhere for them to hide from the sun's regard, where it would be safe to rest? Yet without water and shelter, the life-giving sun itself could kill just as surely as a vampire's fangs.

Terrifying, yet safe. Perhaps even safe because of how terrifying it was? Frankenstein lived only as long as the Lord continued to allow him to breathe, but the same was true for any enemy who dared approach.

There was no need for someone this powerful to trick him, surely? The Lord could kill a human as easily as he made the offhand motion that gestured for Ragar to pour for Gejutel to sample first, since Gejutel had given his own pointed, "My Lord…" to act as taste-tester.

Yet the Devil was supposedly every bit as powerful, and delighted in tricking humans. Frankenstein did not doubt that the Lord had a sense of humor. Elves were notorious for delighting in toying with humans.

"Drink," Frankenstein told Raizel when Gejutel did.

Raizel looked at him with unreadable eyes. He _might_ simply not have emotion, but Frankenstein somehow knew that was not the case. Raizel looked away from him, entirely focused on the movement of raising the goblet and drinking. It was perfect somehow, composure and serenity and elegant movement.

All of them were uncannily graceful, Frankenstein realized as he watched them. There were still differences in how each of them moved.

Gejutel was no-nonsense. Efficient, definite, 'this is how this should be done.' Obviously it was, because it was how he was doing it.

Despite Ragar's swiftness, he managed to seem unhurried, partially by never doing in two movements what could be done in one continuous motion, every action flowing into the next. Using momentum like that would conserve every possible bit of energy: conserve it for what?

Both of them were _trained_ , and Frankenstein realized that he was looking at how they would fight. Gejutel with definite, straightforward attacks; Ragar with rapid, swooping attacks. Of course controlling his momentum would be vital at the kinds of speeds he could move at.

The Lord was _careless_.

A studied, expansive carelessness, actions and movements that only seemed to have force behind them. They did have true emotion, but not _force_.

It seemed the opposite of how he should act, given the amount of power he had to control… Ah. Frankenstein's eyes widened, thinking of how carefully he needed to restrain his increased strength. Yes, once upon a time, he would have had to learn how to control that power, to lock it down. And emotion with it, to keep it from letting that power escape and flare.

Yet once he had control, once he could be around weaker beings without hurting them… then, in order to communicate with his people, to connect with them the way Gejutel and Ragar were comfortable with him, he would have needed to learn to show emotion without letting power escape along with it. In order to have the luxury of being careless, of acting on emotion and impulse, how much infinite care would have to be taken?

Gejutel was a mountain, but what was a mountain compared to the sun? Ragar was always poised to take flight, but in _any_ direction. Towards just as easy as _away_.

They were not afraid of their Lord. They respected him, but there was no trace of fear, not given how clear Gejutel would make it when he wished to complain and was refraining only because this was the Lord and therefore he should not even consider complaining. Because it should not be _necessary_ to consider complaining, if the Lord would only get his act together.

Yet this was how he wished to act. Was Gejutel an old family retainer? Had he known the Lord when he had no choice but to be serious and precise?

And what of the youth?

Raizel was hidden.

No, Raizel was sanctuary.

There was no trace of threat or deception about it. Simply a cool, shadowed room. A retreat from the world. A fortress with thick walls, not meant to keep out enemies but be a place to be safe. A cave where a wounded animal could hide and lick its wounds.

The Lord was protection, but Raizel was sanctuary.

Which, of course, was _nonsense_.

A wounded young man trying to protect _anyone_ : Frankenstein had seen that enough to be _sick of it_. The reality was that no matter how unselfish you were, in order to look after anyone else you first had to look after yourself. A tired, exhausted hunter made mistakes and died. A tired, exhausted doctor made mistakes and their _patients_ died. He knew how often it was necessary, how often there were no alternatives, but that did not mean he had to accept it.

If he was perhaps the Lord's Ward? With some type of inherited post related to vampire slaying, or investigating crimes against humans?

No, the real question was what would happen after his breakfast and their dinner. Did he cancel his patrol, or did he leave creatures who were not human behind in the town while he was gone? True, they could have killed them all during the day, if sunlight did not bother them, but they could do any number of things.

He knew he should treat this like any nobility: be _very very careful_ , and very very respectful, yet something in him still balked when they were not human, and the town had suffered so much because of the vampires, when they had admitted those vampires were their business.

"You said something about interrogating a captured mutant?" he asked them.

"Weren't you thinking along the same lines?" the Lord asked him.

"That… dungeon?" Gejutel asked, giving Frankenstein a suspicious look.

"It was not built to hold humans, Gejutel," Ragar told him. "That was why the Lord asked me to tug on the chain, carefully." He turned to Frankenstein. "It troubles me: they were much stronger than chains would need to be to hold an ordinary mutant. Of course you would leave a margin for error in your estimation of your strength, so that a mutant could not escape and harm those under your protection, but it still seemed somewhat excessive. Those could hold Central Order Knights."

"I built them to hold the strongest vampire I encountered." Frankenstein clenched a fist under the table. "That one could still speak. He was turning others to serve him, so he could rule the area."

"A mutant who could still speak?" They looked at each other, and while none of it showed on their faces, beneath that long-practiced control, Frankenstein was certain he felt a flash of nausea. "He must feel what he's doing to them, right?" the Lord wondered.

"Perhaps that was one of the first powers to be lost, as the false bonds weakened?" Gejutel frowned. "Or it was left out."

"So you're coming round to the idea that Ragar's family might be correct, Gejutel?"

"I don't know what to think at this point, Lord. Yet, if we've had traitors before…"

Ragar was the one to turn to look at Raizel: checking on him, rather than seeing if the comment about traitors hit home? Raizel remained unruffled, as far as Frankenstein could tell, sipping the mulled cider.

* * *

 _Frankenstein_ definitely _has mind control powers. He can mind-wipe nobles, and he might_ _have pulled the noble cultural osmosis trick on_ Clan Leaders _. In the modern day, this appears to fall into the category of things we don't see him use – as Muzaka pointed out, we really don't know what Frankenstein is capable of if he draws on all the power-ups he has available._

 _I was expecting there to be an explosion (of snark, at minimum) when Frankenstein realized a Vampire Lord had just waltzed in and made himself at home, but instead he was trying to figure out what was going on long enough for the Papa Lord confusion effect to kick in._

 _Also, what pissed him off about nobles was that they were either 'what how can a human be so powerful' or 'this isn't our crime/problem' when humans were_ dying _, and the Lord and Noblesse_ definitely _don't feel that way. Possibly because from their perspective, even Clan Leaders are still 'weaker beings' in need of protection/who shouldn't be killed just because they're weak. Remembering the Previous Lord's 'yes good' reaction to Frankenstein killing nobles who were responsible for mutants. I suppose they're bonding over that?_


	4. Chapter 4

_I do think that the reason Rai likes Ramyeon so much is that the kids just gave him some with their own money (well, Shinwoo's), because he was a new friend and they didn't want him to go hungry._

 _So, in this AU, the favorite food ends up being apple-flavored anything, partially because apples are the favorite food of another person who looks like a teenager but actually isn't, possesses the power to blow up cities and is dying. Rai and Luke from Tales of the Abyss both need more hugs._

* * *

"Stop that," Gejutel said testily as they walked through the dark forest.

"Stop what?" Frankenstein wondered, voice deliberately mild. Using such a provoking tone with human nobility who outranked him would be very dangerous. Trying it with someone who wasn't human? Frankenstein hadn't survived this long by taking unnecessary risks like this. He scolded himself, but knew he wasn't likely to stop it. If he was correct and Gejutel was an honorable noble, then it was safe. If Frankenstein was wrong, and Gejutel saw humans as inferiors, like serfs who should not dare speak like this to their betters, better to know sooner rather than later.

"Stop _staring_."

"Staring?" Really? Frankenstein made a show of peering into the undergrowth, and up into the trees. He'd learned his lesson about remembering to _look up_ the hard way. Shame on him for assuming he was the only one who would take advantage of unnatural strength and speed to use that tactic.

"You know what I'm talking about. It's not something humans normally do." So of course he was doing it on purpose.

Should he feign innocence, if that would get him more explanation of this power? He was not sure how far it was… productive to provoke Gejutel. "I do need to be careful. If a mutant gets the drop on me? I'm sure you're aware that humans aren't as powerful as you are."

Gejutel sighed, and said, "I suppose it's reasonable when you're still young enough to be a child. Only those who can't protect themselves yet need to keep track of their protectors and be sure those protectors know where they are. In the pureblood families, it's not done once a child is out of infancy."

Frankenstein arched an eyebrow, but no, that wasn't a dig at him. Gejutel was frowning and looking into the distance. "The _real_ reason the Previous Lord expressed her disapproval is that humans can't defend themselves against it. So we trained ourselves to not look, and most of the younger generation never learned how. The Lord has to gain control over that power, and the Noblesse must use it, but I doubt Ragar would even notice you were looking at him unless you shook him the way you did Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel. I suppose you're right: you're powerful for a human, even if you made yourself that way, and that means you have a responsibility to protect those people. I can't tell you not to use one of the few weapons you have to fight, when you have a duty."

"If humans are vulnerable, then why were you doing it around a human?" Frankenstein wondered. 'Looking' a particular way?

"Because the instant I saw that town of yours, I knew this was going to be a pain in the neck," Gejutel muttered.

Frankenstein paused. Turned, with all the menace he could muster.

"I'm not threatening your… fellow humans. It just took me back. A large place made of stone that could fit a lot of humans in it, overlooking where all the other humans chose to build. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a pureblood."

"You mean your kind takes over towns?"

"No, the humans built them around us. Or, well, humans used to have to wander around to find enough food, and if the humans were leaving because they were hungry, they can't defend themselves well if they're hungry. So one… just happened to be going the same way they were." Gejutel coughed. "The Previous Lord ordered all of the nobles to live in Lukedonia, and I obeyed her command because she was the _Lord_ , but an order can't make someone stop caring. Nobles would try to sneak off to check up on their humans, or they'd refuse to go. The Previous Lord would summon them outside their town, but they knew that if they went she would defeat them. If they didn't answer, the Lord can't fight where humans live, the humans would all die. The Noblesse had to go. The former leader of the Kertia clan and the Mergas clan leader did what they could to force them out or keep them locked in Lukedonia, but that's how we lost two of the previous Noblesse." Gejutel shook his head. "Some of them knew that the Previous Lord was right, and taking care of humans like you were children wasn't helping you, but leaving you without protection… Now this. If the Central Order Knights aren't enough, or there's _corruption_ in them…"

"You _protected_ humans?"

"We pick up languages from humans. 'Nobles' is the word that you would use to describe us. 'Noble' – what does that mean to you?"

Those who protected their people. Those the people looked to for guidance. Those willing to put aside their pride to do whatever was needed, for the good of those they care for. Those who put the needs of others before their own lives.

"From the Latin, it means simply 'well-known.'" Which they weren't, when Frankenstein hadn't know of them and he was rather widely read, insofar as acquiring texts to study was possible in this region. "But… those who deserve to be honored. Those worthy of respect." That was the ideal, that was what noble was _supposed_ to mean. "If there are some among you who aren't, who are willing to unleash monsters: the same is true of human nobility, often enough."

"To defend the soul of the nobles, to protect us and our honor, is the duty of the Noblesse. But that first requires that we fail to preserve our _own_ honor and pride." Gejutel folded his arms. "You have power and you use it to protect them. Good. That is what power is for. If we tried to pry you out of there, you'd fight with everything you had. Thank goodness that's not much."

Frankenstein raised an eyebrow, carefully folding his own arms. If he could push at Gejutel, then he was going to.

"You're a human, but if you were a noble, Ragar Kertia could hit an infant like you over the head and carry you off without Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel having to use his power. If you were a contractor, he could do the same thing, but those blasted _werewolves_ … A human wondering why we protect them… If you have power and someone in front of you needs help, then you help them. That is simply how one lives. If you have power, you are obliged to protect others." Gejutel shook his head, exasperated by the fact this was even a question. "I'm warning you now. Don't abandon your humanity for power. You seem to have… taken some of our abilities, but the Lord feels that you have gained them by your own will, so it's still human business. If you turn yourself into a noble somehow, I'll be the first to come pull you out of here by your hair to spare Cadis Etrama di Raizel. Understood?"

"That's a change from a vampire wanting to turn me into one of their kind."

"I vaguely remember the current Lord being about as tall as my knee. I've been awake on this world long enough to know trouble when I see it." When red eyes were giving Frankenstein an 'I know your type, young man' look. "And we have enough trouble with this whole business of the Central Order Knights 'losing' prisoners. If they know that some individuals are traitors, what is Mergas doing, not ordering multiple guards so the other two can restrain any traitors who try to kill the prisoner…"

"He did," Ragar said, appearing on Frankenstein's left. "The orders were not passed down the chain: someone gave their subordinate the impression that it was to keep the mutants from escaping, and that subordinate felt that the order to conduct a more thorough search for other mutants took priority, with human lives in danger from the mutants. We are not certain how to conduct this type of investigation without the Noblesse. So many stories collaborate, yet the continuing failure to produce any results bar a single mutant with no mind left, who seems to have been contracted the very day he was captured, indicates either deliberate action or mass incompetence."

"Or collusion," Frankenstein said. "The Central Order Knights are a military unit, yes? Those have a long history of choosing loyalty to comrades over loyalty to principle. If this has gone on for a long time, then it can't have happened without Knights other than the criminals looking the other way for the sake of their friends. If you have friends," he added, for the sake of asking the question.

Ragar stood still for a moment. "The protection of their brothers-in-arms, many of them from the same clans… And if the name of the Central Order Knights is disgraced, what of those who have gone to eternal sleep?"

"If they are hiding the makers of mutants, those who sell power to humans willing to create mutants, then that honor has already been besmirched. To defend their honor, that corruption must be eliminated," Gejutel said firmly.

"Let us hope we will succeed in completing this mission without the Noblesse." Ragar vanished.

Frankenstein looked around with both his eyes and that other sense. He knew it was the power of the Kertia clan, but the knowledge a being like a vampire could so casually get the drop on him made his blood run cold. Ragar definitely possessed humility and might possess honor, but what about the other members of the clan? Even the Lord admitted there were criminals among his subjects, and Frankenstein preferred that theory to the claim that the vampire plague was all the fault of human greed for power. "Has he been following us this whole time?"

"No, he's been making a circuit between us, Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel," meaning Frankenstein's town, "and the regional base. At least he knows better than to exhaust himself." Since this patrolling would only be useful if it came to a fight. He frowned at Frankenstein. "Your mind is sharp enough you'll cut yourself. Now that I think about it, since most mutants are near-mindless, or at least they're supposed to be, learning mind control might give you an advantage against them."

"I tried to give myself their power so that I could resist it. I don't want to experiment with mind control on humans, so I can't practice. I once tried to use it on a vampire when we were both looking for openings, but he seized that chance to attack." When Frankenstein had split his concentration. "I thought you didn't approve of me having powers only nobles should have?"

"You already have it, but you're nowhere near strong enough to defend yourself if one of the Central Order Knights decides to take you out before you can tell the Lord anything you've noticed. You already have those powers, so if you learned how to use them, that would mean you wouldn't have to abandon your humanity to become even more powerful. You're only… forty? Even among nobles, children need to be trained." Gejutel paused. "And that's what the Lord's planning, isn't it."

Frankenstein was not a child, but while his pride wanted to correct Gejutel, as a practical matter Frankenstein needed to learn everything he could and there was no reason not to take advantage of Gejutel's mistake. Not to mention that insisting they weren't children was one of the marks of a child. It wouldn't do to demand the nobles treat him as an adult and not have the power to back it up. "What do you mean?"

"Most of the nobles are afraid of Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel. With better reason than I thought, if so many are involved in something the Noblesse should send them to eternal sleep for… But if he throws his life away sentencing them, even the innocent will be even more afraid of him. You're a human in need of assistance, and you may possess the proper spirit of the nobles. It is Cadis Etrama di Raizel's duty to protect that spirit. If you need to learn how to use power over the soul, then there is no one left to teach you better than the Noblesse. The Lord has been trying to get Raizel to come out of that mansion for centuries. At least with you it will be a different mansion, and one companion instead of none."

"He wants to leave his ward with a vampire slayer?"

"His ward?" It seemed that Gejutel did not know where to start explaining just how wrong Frankenstein was, but he eventually harrumphed, deciding it wasn't worth the effort.

Or possibly that Frankenstein was effectively right and he'd rather not admit it.

* * *

When they returned to the town, Raizel was still standing faithfully by the window. Had he even moved all night?

When Frankenstein entered that room, he found someone had moved a small table next to him, and there was a plate on the table. He knew that plate. "I'll return it to the bakery, but in future?" He lifted the plate and found that while there were crumbs remaining on the plate, there were none on the table around it.

Nor on the floor. That was a pleasant surprise. "Well, if you continue to not spill anything, or clean it up when you do, I suppose I can allow you to eat in this room."

Raizel nodded.

Hmm? Something had flashed silver in the darkness of his hair. Frankenstein leaned forward. "Are those cross earrings?" So these nobles willingly wore holy symbols?

Not that crosses helped against vampires.

"They were a gift from the Lord," Raizel said. "I wore one of them earlier: wearing both of them seals more of my power. The Lord said that I should conceal my presence. If they knew the Noblesse was here, none of the offenders would attack."

On the one hand, Frankenstein would rather not have any more vampires attacking his town. On the other hand, they needed to be sent to their rest.

The debate was academic: Raizel was bleeding less energy, so asking him to take either of them off was not an option.

Frankenstein turned to see Gejutel looking at Raizel, rather surprised. "You're not going to make comments about tribute?"

Gejutel shook his head. "If we didn't take the gifts, sometimes they'd view that as an additional sign of worthiness and sneak in and leave them behind anyway. I suppose it may be a sign that your townsfolk have good taste, if they recognize the honor due the Noblesse."

He sighed. "Or they put too much faith in my ability to protect them." Going in his house while he was gone and a stranger was there with red eyes? Even if the Lord's generosity had made a good impression on the town, with some of the people they'd passed on the way back acknowledging 'Sir' Gejutel, it still worried him.

What if he couldn't protect them? They'd placed too much faith in him; what if he couldn't live up to it? His eyes grew shadowed, and he felt the tightness in his chest, trying and failing to conceal the doubt that gripped him, the fear for the people who had already lost so much and so many.

Gejutel half turned away, giving him some privacy instead of platitudes.

It was Cadis Etrama Raizel who took a step towards him and reached out to pat him on the shoulder. There was something tentative in the motion, unlike the noble's usual self-assured grace. As though this was something he'd only read about in books, but a human was in distress and so the attempt had to be made.

Frankenstein was not fond of being touched, but he could sense Raizel's earnestness and it brought a smile to his lips. Heartened, Raizel patted him on the shoulder again and returned to the window to continue his self-appointed duty of watching over the other humans as well.

* * *

Ragar perched on a roof; he had been handed food, and would prefer to eat the midday meal outside Frankenstein's house.

"Crosses dangling from his ears? Now that I think about it..."

"Perhaps it's mortification of the flesh? They might be harder for a vampire to remove than a necklace."

"Right, they would get in the way if someone came at his neck from the side!" That shopkeeper hit his palm with his fist. That explained it!

"It's a good idea, with his eyes like that. They're not like a vampire's, but we wouldn't have known that before…" Before the attacks started. "Justine took him one of our crosses, just to be sure." That his weren't deconsecrated somehow.

"She did what? But they're nails and string!"

" _Iron_ nails and string!"

"No, no, one of the wooden ones!"

The others let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't hard to identify Raizel as 'not human,' but since he'd been brought to church (even if he couldn't take Communion, it was still alright for him to attend) and the Doctor vouched for him, he seemed to be decent. "The church bells don't seem to bother him."

"There's that one story, about the poor fairy children turned into swans who were living in a pond right next to a church."

"Perhaps it's only evil ones, then. But we should be careful about the iron, even so."

"Should we ask the Doctor if we should keep anything away from Sir Raizel? He isn't bothered by salt or holy water."

"Sir Gejutel was a little insulted by the garlic. I would have been too, but Elizabeth explained that we do have to take precautions, and he said he understood."

It was a pity, Ragar thought, that none of the human countermeasures other than sunlight worked, even on mutants. Still, their attempt to make sure their guests were under what little protection they could provide, and that the Noblesse was not accidentally mistaken for a mutant despite his red eyes, was generous.

Protection was the duty of the strong: it was not something they deserved thanks for. It was the duty they owed to the world and themselves, since they had power.

Protection was… _not_ the duty of the weak. Yet these humans were thinking that of _course_ they would attempt to protect the Noblesse.

Was this why the Lord thought so highly of them? Ragar nodded to himself.

Truly, the Lord was wise.

* * *

Frankenstein knocked when he heard voices in the drawing room, and the Lord called for him to, "Come in, it's your house!" When Frankenstein opened the door, the Lord turned back to Raizel to continue the conversation. "It was worse once somebody decided that gold and gemstones were the courteous thing to give us. I guess it makes sense: gold doesn't corrode and gems last awhile too, so they probably wanted to give us something to remember their gratitude by. The problem is that they _don't_ just go away on their own eventually, and what can you even do with them? Humans got the idea of making plates and stuff out of gold, but it's not really useful for much else, is it? Mother ended up with this mountain of gold shoved under her bed after she ran out of other places to store it."

"What are you talking about?" Frankenstein asked, even though he was afraid he knew. Truly?

"Humans and gifts. Humans don't like to feel in anyone's debt, or has that changed?" The Lord smiled at him to let him know the question was rhetorical. "A lot of the things that are easy for us, humans might get hurt doing them, or it takes away from the time they have to find food. So, if a human does something for another human, they want to make sure the other human doesn't end up worse off because of their kindness. A noble doesn't really deserve repayment for something that wasn't a problem, but saying no can hurt their feelings."

Raizel sighed.

"If the humans give you too much stuff, according to Mother the best thing to do is to find other humans, and this is important, humans who _don't have stuff_ , and give it to them. Since often humans really need stuff, so having it will help them out, and if they don't have stuff then they don't have stuff to give you." So there wasn't the risk of ending up with more than you started out with.

"But I have not done anything for them," Raizel pointed out, frowning.

Oh? Frankenstein smiled. "Well, if you want to make yourself useful around the house…"

* * *

Gejutel cleared his throat as they stood overlooking the riverbank. It seemed that Ragar's report had brought the Lord to personally observe what was going on, but he doubted it was for the proper reasons. "Lord, is this appropriate?"

"Appropriate?" The Lord smiled down at the Doctor demonstrating advanced human clothes-cleaning techniques for the Noblesse. "Raizel is doing things besides stand in front of a window knowing that everyone's afraid he'll sentence them to eternal sleep." Honestly, as though poor Raizel was some kind of crazed killer, but eternal sleep was so rare that to send several at once? It was a poor reward for Raizel's service.

He deserved _better_ than the job of Noblesse.

"Frankenstein has discovered that Raizel's powers allow him to transform and mend clothing." For instance, transforming dirty hunting gear into something that wouldn't track dirt all over the house, or turning clothes that Raizel accidentally shredded not knowing how much strength to use when doing the laundry into fixed clothes.

Yet he was still giving the Noblesse a second opportunity to damage his possessions, when clothing was difficult for humans to replace, instead of allowing Raizel to use his powers for the human's benefit? That would be deplorable, but still, for Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel to be expected to do chores? Having the Noblesse's time wasted on such trivial things?

Or was the Lord correct, that it was better than having nothing to do but look out a window? Gejutel was aware that the Noblesse was very responsible, uninterested in the frivolities the Lord attempted to use to gain his attention and attendance, so perhaps giving him a useful task, something that would assist others?

It seemed inappropriate. The symbol of the standards nobles should hold themselves to doing something that involved touching dirt? Inelegant, but even if the amount of power it took Sir Raizel to replace his own clothing was trivial, if the Noblesse's lifespan could be extended? And was that not the Lord's goal and purpose, to use his position as symbol of Authority for the welfare of the nobles?

The Lord smiled. "Don't worry: when he wanted a blood sample so he could try to figure out how to replicate that ability I gave him mine."

Gejutel tried to find words appropriate for the Lord. 'I fail to see how that is an improvement' was perhaps too questioning of the Lord's judgment, but better than letting anyone have the _Noblesse's_ blood.

After millennia of being visited only rarely, Raizel was perhaps overly eager to please, and even an Awakening might use a considerable amount of his power. On the other hand, if Frankenstein attempted a contract, or someone found out that his house contained _the Lord's blood_ and managed to steal something that offered such amazing power, the Lord would simply deny the contract and there would be no harm done.

Right?

* * *

The nobles were surprisingly human.

The Lord's eccentricity (deliberately cultivated or not). Ragar's admiration of everything the Lord did (including his most eccentric moments). Gejutel's moments of being a crotchety old man (although despite his awareness that Frankenstein was too blasted clever, an elder's willingness to impart wisdom to the younger generation was easy to exploit for information). Then there was Raizel being an overly chivalrous knight, too-willing to see justice done at the cost of his own life (so the Lord's only recourse was to make sure that justice was done quickly, which Frankenstein could not complain about).

Perhaps they were more akin to dhampire than vampires or elves, which while they _could_ be capable of being chivalrous knights, were by default soulless?

If they lived such a very long time, and one of the previous Lords ordered them to remove themselves from ordinary humans, perhaps so that humans greedy for power would not become vampires, then it was possible...

Then there was his new cook.

Frankenstein wasn't there when that particular noble arrived. He'd accepted Ragar Kertia's offer of assistance getting to one of the nearby towns, while Raizel spent the night with the night watchmen.

The indignity of being carried was enough to make him accept a few lessons in covering ground faster. It was a relief that he hadn't felt any uncanny hunger afterwards. _Extreme_ hunger, yes: if he hadn't packed food he was certain his stomach would have tried to consume itself, but not uncanny hunger.

Sir Urokai Agvain, head of the Agvain Clan, had shown up in the middle of the night yelling at the gate in some unknown tongue. After Raizel sighed and jumped down to talk to him, the gate was opened so that Raizel didn't have to stand there outside the town walls at night.

Frankenstein had gathered that as a rule, nobles were _quiet_. Raizel was an extreme case, possibly because he was a hermit before coming here. The Lord was an exception by choice, and Gejutel could be rendered talkative by imitation of a young and troublesome noble, who would make far _less_ trouble for Gejutel if he was instructed in proper behavior.

Urokai, according to all reports, had _babbled_. Despite his tone of offense and complaint, no one had been very worried for Raizel since it was clear that _he_ was worried for Raizel. His clear concern for his fellow knight had dispelled any worried that his red hair might be a sign of demonic blood or influence, thankfully.

It was all very awkward, because being fussed over had clearly made Raizel very uncomfortable and no one had dared interrupt a member of the nobility to attempt to point this out tactfully. Frankenstein was glad he'd missed it.

It was bad enough that when he returned from helping Ragar verify that none of the mutants they'd found could speak, even with someone pushing at their thoughts to force them to reveal any truths they knew, he was greeted at his own door by a very histrionic redhead, who by this point had picked up the local tongue. Since obviously Urokai could not criticize _the Lord_ for vanishing into the night with Raizel, and of course attempting to make Gejutel care would have proven fruitless, Frankenstein had somehow become the target of Urokai's complaints and worries about Raizel's health.

The fortunate aspect of all this was that the head of Clan Agvain was _absolutely_ in agreement with the Lord about the need to locate any traitors and force them into eternal sleep before Raizel's health could be endangered. So Frankenstein now had one more… person capable of easily killing vampires available.

A person who, unlike the other four, was overly emotional and therefore very easy to nudge in useful directions.

Case in point: when Urokai had observed that Raizel enjoyed mulled, spiced cider and had torn apart Frankenstein's kitchen and larder looking for the supplies to make something _utterly undrinkable_ , then refused to clean up his own mess, according to Ragar Gejutel had simply given him a very disapproving look and asked him what he thought the Noblesse would think of such behavior. Raizel's sigh had devastating effect.

Frankenstein was very, _very_ fortunate that he'd slept thorough not simply the mess, but Urokai's failure to make any net improvement in the state of his kitchen. Fortunately, Ragar had fetched the local carpenter and blacksmith for their advice in how _he_ could repair the kitchen.

 _That_ had woken him up, but he'd decided he didn't want to know and remained determinedly asleep until the banging stopped.

Thankfully, the baker had seen the despondent Urokai and revealed to him that there were these things called _recipes_ that took most of the guesswork out of attempting to cook, and managed to coach him through making an acceptable apple strudel in, and this was important, a kitchen that was _not Frankenstein's_.

He'd woken up to find Urokai convinced that cooking was an arcane, alchemic process that, if properly mastered, would allow him to convert mere human food into a happy Raizel. Meaning Frankenstein now had a new cook who wasn't at risk of being killed by vampires.

"I was worried that you were going to offer contracts to those women," Gejutel said, giving the younger noble a disapproving look.

"Of course not. I'm aware humans live only sixty or seventy years, but I will have mastered all they have to teach me long before _then_."

Maybe there was another reason to be glad Urokai was so haughty. Besides how easy it made it to exploit him. No, there was no need to fear _him_ contracting with humans and unleashing a vampire plague.

That was when Frankenstein realized, watching Gejutel and Ragar watch Urokai, that he had been one of the prime suspects. It made sense, did it not, when Gejutel was originally convinced that vampires sprang from noble and human carelessness, and Urokai was prone to letting his emotions get the better of him to the point innocent kitchens paid the price?

Yet no: the evidence that they were faced with a conspiracy had convinced even Gejutel, and Urokai was incapable of the kind of elaborate manipulations of others that would be necessary to cause so many to abandon their honor.

He was a _prime target_ for such a manipulator.

Perhaps Frankenstein should make another attempt to tolerate Urokai enough to converse with him. He had asked Gejutel about his impressions of the other clan leaders, but Gejutel was not prone to gossip and none of them would have tried to approach _him_ with thoughts of corrupting him. If Urokai was asked about his conversations with other clan leaders?

The difficulty might be making him _be quiet_.

* * *

 _Are there ancient noble guidebooks, or guide stone tablets, on 'how to deal Nobly with the humans who has just moved into your house/cave and started doing stuff for you/giving you stuff?'_

 _Because this is a thing humans do in the Noblesse world – no, it's not just Rai – according to Frankenstein's 'Nobles 101.' I love the idea that to nobles, early humans were basically cats. Independent, do random things for strange reasons, wander around being murder machines, bring you gifts of dead stuff and expect you to be grateful when you'd rather they didn't…_

 _Rai gave Frankenstein a safe place to stay and sent away the Clan Leaders who were trying to capture him, and to Frankenstein that's a big deal, but to Rai, it's probably really not?_

 _This may be why Rai has such a hard time computing the 'seriously, just let us handle this fight for you, okay?' because his idea of the noble-human social contract is that 'noble squashes anything that looks at human funny' and they're… not… even wanting him to do that for them? Raizel really appreciates everyone in the household making him so happy, but he's not great with words and Frankenstein's upset when he joins in the cleaning, so he probably feels like he doesn't have a way to give back other than fighting._


	5. Chapter 5

_Frankenstein is from a time and place with a caste system. And while I'd say Ye Ran establishes at the very beginning of the webtoon that he actively_ loathes _the concept, even before we see how pissed off the Union dealing in superiors and inferiors makes him, but he's still, you know, not oblivious to reality._

 _He thinks it needs to be killed with fire, but he's aware that other people are certainly willing to kill when inferiors get uppity and don't care about the lives of those inferiors._

 _He's also had a lot less time to grow bitter, especially since he hasn't gone through the Union's betrayal, and at this point mouthing off to the enemy is not a corner of his combat strategy – of course not, when most of the time he's fighting mutants too dumb to think. There's no advantage in wasting breath failing to enrage them._

 _Still, especially pre-Union, I think he'd be willing to give people the benefit of the doubt because a lot of people tend to define 'normal' by 'like me,' and he's a very, very decent person. Once he learns that someone else is evil he'll end them, but up until that point he's very accommodating, even if he finds you annoying or dislikes you (see M-21 at first, due to M-21 threatening the kids)._

* * *

Frankenstein surfaced from his notes and sensed Raizel at the door. A moment later, Raizel entered.

He hoped Raizel hadn't been waiting long. Once he'd asked how long Raizel had spent waiting for Frankenstein to notice him so he could enter without startling him or making _noise_ by knocking, and Raizel had looked at him for a moment and said, "Not long."

That would be more reassuring if questioning hadn't revealed that Raizel regarded a decade ago as equivalent to 'earlier in the day.' Clearly, nobles' immortality caused them to have a very different concept of time.

Well, at least that meant that even if Raizel was kept waiting an hour it wouldn't bother him.

"Taking refuge from the chatter?" Frankenstein asked him without turning around.

Raizel sighed: obviously he couldn't say yes. Given how Ragar hesitated before apologizing for how talkative Urokai was and quickly followed that by saying he normally wasn't like this, really, it seemed as though a talkative person was a shameful thing to be for them, and Raizel wasn't the type to speak badly of people.

Nobles were very private beings, and even Sir Urokai wouldn't barge into Frankenstein's workroom if it was a _private_ space. As for why Raizel was allowed there when clan leaders like Urokai weren't, why, the Lord and the Noblesse did as they wished. Urokai wasn't going to be jealous of Frankenstein for being _intruded on_.

Even if it wasn't an intrusion. Raizel really couldn't tell him much about how ordinary nobles spent their days, but he was still a source of valuable data. The Lord knew much more, but his eyes had lit up seeing all the glass and equipment and he had started asking questions with interest that was as genuine as it was overwhelming until Ragar arrived with a message. Frankenstein had barely been able to get any words in edgewise to answer the Lord's questions, forget asking his own!

Then again, he hadn't ended up wanting to spend his time answering the Lord's questions, when the Lord's speculation on the equipment and musing aloud to answer his own questions contained so much information that Frankenstein didn't know! For a ruler to know so much about the natural world and human physiology? But then, the more a ruler understood, the easier it would be for them to make wise decisions. A ruler who had countless millennia to accumulate knowledge about a multitude of subjects?

A pity that conversations with the Lord came with so much risk… but then again, if he did manage to give offense to the Lord, he could probably undo the damage and escape with his head still on his shoulders by quickly saying something complimentary about the princess. He doubted a ruler would _forget_ the offense, but an excuse to talk about the princess would at least put the Lord in a good mood and make him willing to _pretend_ he hadn't heard an injudicious comment.

It was beginning to puzzle him why the clan leaders were so sure their Lord wouldn't execute them, even when he made it clear that he was willing to kill even clan leaders if they violated the law (which was more justice than many human monarchs would do for attacks on their own common folk by the nobility, forget on the people of another land). Yes, as clan leaders they might have armies that would rise in rebellion if they were imprisoned without excuse, but did they think that would _matter_ when the Lord could strike them down so easily?

The fact they trusted each other without thinking about it might make them inept in rooting out treachery, but the implication that they themselves weren't treacherous was reassuring.

Faced with Urokai's chatter, Raizel tried to be there and at least attempt listening for as much as he could stand, but eventually he began to take refuge in Frankenstein's lab, the one place no one but Ragar might possibly disturb them.

The trouble with the laundry was that it was necessary to apply a certain amount of force to clean clothing, and it was difficult for a being so much stronger than a human to know how much force was appropriate without experimentation.

Any kind of complex process tended to leave Raizel baffled until he was walked through it, but he was quiet and precise.

It was one thing to have vampires trying to control Frankenstein, but he really couldn't mind Raizel knowing what he needed and bringing it to him.

The first time he'd turned after making the request, because how was Raizel supposed to know which vessel held the – and then it was placed into his hands. The fact that Raizel could, and did, start moving before he even asked the question was strangely… comfortable.

Raizel would be going home eventually. Gejutel was quite firm on that, and Frankenstein agreed that if the nobles stayed in the human world, there was more chance of another vampire plague. Also, even if Raizel was ill, a human's lifespan was still nothing compared to an immortal's. Grief had quite adverse effects on the humors, and Frankenstein doubted nobles were any different in that regard, despite their desire to hold themselves above such things.

Yet while Raizel was here, it was pleasant. To be safe in his own home again. To know that the town was safe. Frankenstein would miss him, when he left.

Perhaps he should consider taking a student? Once it was safe, of course. Before, a student would have become a target for vampires.

A wife was out of the question, when he didn't know all the possible effects of what he had done to himself.

Having a red-eyed inhuman creature standing there watching him should have made him wary, but the weight of Raizel's regard was like the warmth of sunlight on his back. Not a threat, not darkness and hunger aching to devour him, to force him to turn against the people he wanted to protect. From Raizel he sensed a purity of soul.

And safety.

The idea that he could not trust Raizel… it was laughable. Ragar and Gejutel were more skilled, the Lord had great power that he could use without being harmed, but out of all of them, he almost enjoyed having Raizel at his back. Raizel tried so hard to do his duty as the protector of the nobles even though it harmed him, left him sick and bleeding.

As a doctor, Frankenstein couldn't support that type of behavior, but when he'd taken such risks to defend this town, he could certainly understand it.

* * *

"The previous Agvain clan leader was one of the clan leaders who cared far more for rule over humans than their honor as nobles, or their duties as nobles," Ragar told him later, as they searched what used to be a nest of vampires for anything that might have escaped the traitors' attempt to erase all evidence. "They were not kind."

The people the previous clan head was unkind to… did their number include his son?

"Urokai feels there is a debt he has yet to repay to Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel, yet the Noblesse feels that he should not receive gratitude for forcing anyone into eternal sleep. It does not help that the Noblesse prefers silence, while Urokai is becoming… talkative."

"Well, if he feels a need for conversation, he'll get all of it that he can tolerate." When the bakery was now a gathering place of the town's young girls and elderly women, at least those who weren't engaged in other work, and Urokai had the appearance of a handsome young man, devoted to his friend and willing to listen to their wisdom.

If he was arrogant and saw them as inferior, well he _was_ nobility, so of course he had every right to be that way. He seemed to find that deference a pleasing sop to his pride, after his dramatic failure in front of the _unsurprised_ Cadis Etrama di Raizel.

Ragar was staring at him. "A… _need_ for conversation."

"Yes? A great many people seem to feel the need to hear themselves talk, and even more need to feel that they are being heard."

Ragar continued to stare at him, brow furrowing in puzzlement. As though that could not _possibly_ be correct, yet he did not want to insult Frankenstein by saying the human must be wrong. Oh, it was possible that Ragar had misheard him, but asking if Frankenstein had said something that absurd would mean implying that he'd thought it was possible Frankenstein might actually believe something so absurd.

"There are humans who become hermits or take oaths of silence so they will never have to speak to anyone, and there are humans who seem to wither if they go for too long without fellowship," Frankenstein elaborated so Ragar would quit staring.

If Frankenstein said so, then Ragar would not argue with a human on the subject of what humans were like: Frankenstein would know better than he did. Yet, "Urokai is a noble."

"Are all nobles exactly alike?" Frankenstein asked him.

"I have never heard of such a thing among nobles."

"There _are_ more humans. So rare types of humans would occur in numbers large enough for us to notice that they are a type, instead of simply a strange individual."

"So there are humans like Urokai, but they are rare?"

"No. Humans like Urokai are not rare." Unfortunately. "Since they enjoy each other's company, ideally they seek each other out and leave the rest of us alone. Of course, since company makes them happier, they have a hard time realizing that other people do _not_ enjoy being dragged to taverns. So their desire to cheer up their friends causes them to force those friends to socialize," Frankenstein explained. "Their hearts may be in the right place, but they can be very… noisy, since they believe that other people _need_ such large amounts of seemingly-useless conversation. I don't really regard it as an imposition to engage in small talk, when it makes them happy."

"I see why the Lord acknowledges you," Ragar said, sounding impressed.

Really, had _none_ of them been able to make sense of Urokai's behavior?

Imagine a place where people like that were _strange…_

"But I have not seen any humans acting as inelegantly intrusive as Urokai. Have you humans devised some remedy for this tendency?" When stoic Ragar looked so eager and hopeful? Centuries of Urokai must have worn on him.

"They go to the tavern in the evenings, or the bakery during the day, and spend a great deal of time talking to each other. This purges the excess and restores their minds and bodies to balance."

"So instead of trying to restrain their talkative nature, they gain control over it by _releasing_ it? But making unwanted noise is inelegant… Ah, but it is not inelegant if it is appropriate! It is not an imposition if they are assisting other humans in this process!" From the light in red eyes, he seemed to think it sheerest genius.

"Or they find jobs that involve talking with other people. The baker needs to talk to her customers to find out what they need. Urokai noticed that Raizel was lonely and was attempting to fix that."

"A very difficult task, when even the Lord has had trouble helping Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel," Ragar agreed. "A duty that involves speaking with others, asking them questions even when it might be intrusive or inelegant…" He blinked. "Would interrogation fall in that category?"

"I think he'd be very willing to try." When the criminals who made vampires were putting Raizel's health at risk.

"Excuse me, I must immediately report this to the Lord." Ragar bowed and vanished.

Wait.

Was _that_ what was making it take so long to get any of the Central Order Knights to crack?

Now that he thought about it, it seemed obvious. Nobles were private beings who didn't pry. The idea of forcing someone else to talk when they didn't want to talk would be painfully inappropriate and counterintuitive to them. Urokai, on the other hand, had absolutely _no_ trouble at all demanding answers and explanations when Raizel was involved, even of the Lord himself.

…had it _really_ never occurred to them…?

* * *

Raizel sighed, looking out the window in Frankenstein's bedroom.

What to do…

Frankenstein was asleep, and needed his rest.

While he was asleep, someone needed to guard the town, and Raizel was the only one here.

He had gone into Frankenstein's room so that the instant the human woke up Raizel would know and could leave, but he had felt comfortable doing that only because he knew that his presence would not wake Frankenstein.

Instead, Frankenstein sensing his presence had caused the human to relax and fall into a deeper sleep. That would be good, when he exhausted himself caring for others, but it meant that if Raizel left it would be harder for him to rouse himself and defend the town if it was attacked.

Now Raizel truly _was_ forced to remain here until it was over or the human woke, and he could feel how tired Frankenstein was, his body trying to adapt to the changes he'd taken upon himself, to gain the power to protect the other humans.

Had the Lord planned this, had Ragar withdraw with Gejutel so that Raizel couldn't leave Frankenstein undefended to investigate the clash of energies? First Urokai Agvain had summoned his soul weapon, and now Roctis Kravei.

So, Ignes Kravei was behind the mutants that attacked Frankenstein's people. Raizel was well aware that Roctis feared that she was using her power to abuse humans for her own gain, but Roctis had been afraid of having his fears confirmed.

The Noblesse's permission to investigate the minds of nobles only extended to clan leaders. If he found Ignes in the act, he would have been allowed to send her to forced eternal sleep, but the Noblesse was also not permitted to reveal information gained by probing another's mind to anyone, even the Lord, by order of the Previous Lord. Nor could he take other actions in accordance with that information, when that risked revealing it.

Most nobles were very private. Before he sent those clan leaders to forced eternal sleep, the other nobles had avoided him fearing not mere _eternal sleep_ , but the invasion of their minds. To have another noble learn their most inelegant secrets?

Urokai's mind was willing to open to him, but Urokai was incomprehensible and wanted things that he could not provide. It was equally frustrating and distressing to have the most frequent of his rare visitors be someone he was unable to help even though it was the duty of the Noblesse to guard the souls of the nobles.

Then the human, with a human's tiny soul (so like a noble child's), had peered into him with caution but without fear. Attempted to forcibly seize his attention, so that Raizel would eat the sweet dish.

He was not a human: food would not make him recover from the use of his powers, but Frankenstein was like the Lord. They both attempted to care for him, but while the Lord had a duty, Frankenstein simply _cared_. It was appropriate when he was the strongest among the humans, but he had _become_ the strongest among the humans so he could protect those around him.

He was still so _weak_ , his soul was so small compared to a noble, yet so determined to protect.

Frankenstein slept now, trusting Raizel to protect him, and so Raizel was trapped here as just surely as someone Raizel himself had not given permission to move.

For a moment, looking down at that sleeping face, feeling that dreaming soul latched on to his, he lost the ability to breathe. Oh, Frankenstein's hold on his mind was frail, it could simply be brushed aside, and yet that very weakness meant he could not struggle against it. What if he _hurt_ him?

Urokai Agvain battled Roctis Kravei. Normally, no noble could interfere in another's battle, but the Noblesse had the authority to do whatever was necessary in the course of his duties. If he heard a confession, or obtained other confirmation, then he could send Ignes to eternal sleep. If only he could have before so many of this place's humans had been killed.

It was troubling: for the good of humans, nobles were not meant to intrude on their world to any great degree, not until they gained enough power that contact with nobles would no longer cause them to decide their own strength was meaningless by comparison. However, between the werewolves and nobles like Ignes, they still needed protection from those more powerful than them.

Perhaps… the Lord wanted him to stay here.

In defense of the weak and the spirit of the nobles, the Noblesse _could_ be allowed to ignore the Previous Lord's decree that living among humans was forbidden. Events happened so quickly in the human world. A mere couple of centuries between his implanted commands for the clan leaders he was worried about to visit so he could scan their minds seemed like too soon, an abuse of his power, yet dozens, perhaps even hundreds of humans could die in that time, if a noble abused their power.

It seemed unlikely, but the Lord might be correct. Raizel did not… well, perhaps he did somewhat appreciate the Lord trying to make him focus less on his duty, and he certainly appreciated the Lord trying to make his duty less necessary by trying to find better ways to ensure the humans were not abused, but staying in the human world, being aware of what passed there…

It was his duty to protect the nobles and their honor, and Frankenstein was very important to the nobles. As long as humans were so precious and so unable to protect themselves, they would be a temptation. Nobles were beings that were supposed to live in accordance with their wills, and the restrictions on their freedoms that were necessary to protect the humans were causing other nobles to hate the humans, when it wasn't as though the humans wished to die so easily.

If… certain people knew of Frankenstein, they would wish to destroy the potential he represented, or try to take it for themselves.

Clearly, it was the True Noblesse's duty not to let that happen. To preserve the honor of the nobles. To protect the nobles. As the Symbol of Power, he had to do the duty of those with power and protect the weak.

Protecting the humans from things they could handle with their own power harmed them by keeping them from growing strong, and Raizel did not want to harm anyone, but especially not this human. Frankenstein wished to protect Raizel, so perhaps staying here might even give him a reason to grow stronger? He did not need protecting, but Frankenstein could then use that power to protect other humans.

Staying in the Lord's mansion would be a torment, feeling the minds of all the nobles flee from him, but here, in the human world, standing here like this looking down at the sunlight on the tips of golden hair peeking out from under the blanket?

This was not so bad.

* * *

Frankenstein woke to find Raizel gone. Then he frowned at himself, wondering why he had expected that Raizel would be in the room when he woke. He put the thought aside and got ready for the evening. Entering the dining room, he began to greet the two who were present, then focused and moved towards Urokai as soon as he noticed, "What happened to your eye?"

"Ignes Kravei," Urokai said, sounding pleased. "Or Roctis failing to avenge her."

"It is possible for him to heal an injury like that, but he came here and refuses to return to Lukedonia for help preparing the wound for regrowth," Ragar said.

An idiot young man getting wounded and carrying on full of bravado and victory instead of getting the wound seen to? Well, he would see about that. Not just healing wounds but _regrowing an eye_? He couldn't miss the opportunity to observe that. If he wasn't well used to how oblivious Urokai was, he might have been offended that Urokai would just leave the injury, squander his innate gifts, without thinking of the people who died because of such wounds. "Ignes Kravei?"

"She was the source of all the trouble and the effort to hide it from Cadis Etrama di Raizel that spread it to others. How dare Roctis not care how many the Noblesse had to send to eternal sleep, as long as his daughter's sleep was delayed…" Urokai bared his teeth, seeming about ready to hiss in contempt.

"How do you think Raizel will feel about having someone injured in his defense?" Frankenstein asked him. "Is there anything I can do to assist you with growing that back before he sees it?"

Urokai blanched. "Is that why he intruded on your lab as soon as he saw me?"

"What do you think?" was probably the safest response.

Oh no! Clear alarm in his remaining red eye. "If _he_ was worried about me came to see that I was alright after sensing our battle, and then I _wasn't_ alright…"

"Were you expecting him to congratulate you, or thank you for being injured for his sake? You could at least have washed the blood off your face first so he didn't feel so guilty."

Urokai wailed. "How could I have looked so inelegant in front of Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel!"

"Do you think you can grow it back before dinner, or will you need an eyepatch to hide the injury from him until it heals?"

"An _eyepatch?_ Like… like someone whose eye won't grow back? But I can't keep Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel waiting for his dinner for hours!" Urokai grabbed Frankenstein with trembling hands. "What if he thinks I'm not there because I had to go into hibernation? Don't you have things that make humans heal faster? If they work on you, when you heal so slowly, they _must_ do _something_!"

"Come into the treatment room, we can start by washing that blood off you."

Urokai followed, properly chastised by the realization that he had _made Raizel worry_.

Once the patient was dealt with, then Frankenstein could find out the details. Well, any that Urokai didn't babble at him first. Yet if the root of the infection really had been purged? Or had Urokai hared off after the first name he extracted from the conspirators, and there were others they were even more reluctant to reveal?

* * *

 _This is Frankenstein fairly early in his experiments, literally centuries before he goes to Lukedonia. He's not powerful enough to be anywhere near pissed-off clan leaders. He's lucky that Urokai was too upset to put any force into grabbing him, or he'd have broken upper arms – see Seira and the pan. My guess is that Urokai and Ragar were created after the move to Lukedonia – Gejutel and the Lord are familiar enough with humans that the Lord could even do a hearty handshake, I'm sure._

 _Frankenstein and Raizel both see the other person as younger and themselves as an adult. Urokai sees Frankenstein as someone his own age, the way Seira sees Shinwoo. The Lord treats Frankenstein as a peer when they meet on Lukedonia, so when this Frankenstein is very young the genius-level intelligence (the Lord is the one character so far who is smarter than Frankenstein, but think about what it means to be that smart in a culture of people who just don't think) has gotten him added to 'my babies' along with Raskreia and Raizel._


	6. Chapter 6

He was recording everything he'd learned about both the conspiracy and the difference between a vampire's healing and Urokai's when the Lord barged into his lab.

Frankenstein fixed a smile on his face, knowing he couldn't really _blame_ Ragar for opening the door to let his liege Lord into the lab but still intending to seek some minor vengeance, because he kept his secrets in here and Ragar should know that and have some respect for it.

Why was the Lord carrying a large clay pot, he wondered, brows furrowing. Was it… buzzing?

"Ah, there you are. Do you know anything about human soul weapons?" the Lord asked, plunking the pot down on his worktable.

Frankenstein blinked. "Soul… weapon?" For some reason, he had the sense this wasn't a metaphor.

"The souls of our ancestors turn into weapons to protect their descendants. Those who hold one of those weapons are Clan Leaders," Ragar told him.

He'd never seen any of his noble guests pull out a weapon, but they would hardly need one to dispatch a mutant, even if the Central Order Knights carried weapons. "I'm aware of stories of ghosts, and the souls of ancestors watching over their descendents. I suppose a haunted ancestral blade is possible." Frankenstein tried to wrack his brain for anything that sounded useful as the Lord opened the pot.

A knot of darkness crackling with energy swarmed out of it, but the Lord caught it easily, holding it as it crackled and hissed and tried to break loose of his hands. It seemed a little smaller than a cat. "Ignes was working with the power-hungry humans to learn how to turn humans into soul weapons. At first they tried to find strong-souled humans and get soul weapons by killing them, but then they had the idea of gathering lots of souls. These are the souls they gathered from the vampire plague, since all the people whose blood got drunk were connected together, and since they… No, bad," the Lord chided the darkness in his hands when it crackled angrily, attempting to cut through his hands with a claw that glinted like metal for an instant.

"Their connection to Ignes connected them to Cetus once she and Roctis were in eternal sleep, so I found them when I went looking for Cetus so I could Awaken one of the non-pureblood members of the clan and give the clan a heir. They ate Ignes' soul for me!" The Previous Lord looked down at his captive thundercloud, pleased. "Otherwise I would have had to tear her off Cetus myself, to keep her madness from affecting the new clan leader, and that's always a bother. After they did me a favor like that, I just had to make a portable sanctuary for them and see what I can do for the poor things."

"You mean… the villagers, the townsfolk… all the victims of the vampires? They're _trapped_ in there?"

This nod was solemn. "I thought that there might eventually be human clan leaders, but not like this," the Lord frowned, patting the dark mass as if to console it. "How could Ignes let this happen to these poor little dears, just so she could have a soul weapon sooner?"

He knew that humans would do terrible things for power (like become vampires) but he still couldn't answer the Lord when he didn't understand it himself. "Can they be freed?"

"Normally, soul weapons only stay manifested so long, or they disappear once their task is accomplished. I've made all of them understand that Ignes is dead, and the humans who helped make it have been imprisoned on an isolated island under guard, but they're still here."

"There were humans partially responsible for _this_ , and they still live?" His fists clenched even though there was a sword at his side. He still was not used to bearing a weapon.

"Well, they're humans. Some of them were contractors, and being bound to someone else's soul makes their fate yours, according to tradition, but ordinary humans aren't subject to our laws. I know there are human Lords, but something like this…" the Lord waved at the darkness.

"Yes. If wars can create powerful weapons…" The risk of corruption was too great. Frankenstein reached out to touch the poor souls.

The mass struck like the caged dark lightning it resembled.

* * *

 _I'm sorry._

 _I'm so sorry._

 _I couldn't protect you._

 _Too weak, too slow to find ways to fight them. Too shackled by fear of leaving my own town unprotected to come to your aid._

 _I'm sorry._

 _I am so sorry._

 _I failed you._

"Frankenstein," he heard, drifting in the raging darkness.

"Awaken."

* * *

He woke fallen to his knees, cheeks still wet with tears and Raizel standing over him.

The cold made him shiver, and he looked down to find his clothes torn and soaked with blood.

The last traces of gouges in his flesh healed over as he watched. Far faster than he normally healed.

Raizel frowned, red eyes concerned, and patted him on the shoulder. Once, twice, again, as though he wanted to give comfort and this was the only method he knew, so he would have to keep trying and hope that it worked.

It startled a laugh from him, but it came out hoarse. His throat felt torn, yet healing. Had it also been attacked, or was it strained by sobs? Or screams.

"You did not force them out of you," Raizel said. "Were you unable?"

He opened his mouth, but no words came. All he could think of was that he didn't want Raizel to see him like this. He would worry.

Those red eyes looked sad, and Raizel's hand lifted up again, this time without coming back down to touch him again, let him feel warmth through the ruined cloth. It hovered hesitantly in midair, wanting to try to comfort him again but afraid he was doing the wrong thing, or would be rejected.

He wanted to take that hand, let him know that it was alright by pulling him closer, but he would get blood all over Raizel. His fingers twitched, trying to draw power to change his outer form enough to clean himself and his clothing. It left him even more confused when it _worked_. He felt exhausted; there shouldn't have been any power _to_ respond, let alone enough to manage it.

Raizel still hesitated to touch him.

Blood. There was blood, on Raizel's hand. The noble didn't want to get him dirty again.

Always-flawless Raizel had dirtied himself, trying to help him. What else had he done? Spent some of that life? The thought forced a whimper from him, made him try to reach up to Raizel, wracked with guilt.

Raizel patted him on the shoulder now. There was almost an urgency to it this time, a need to make Frankenstein stop feeling bad. Did he think that it was because of him?

"I'm… sorry," Frankenstein managed as his eyes slid shut.

* * *

"Still… human. Such a powerful Awakening…"

"Why didn't you let me perform the Awakening…" That scolding tone… the Lord, certainly.

"A human against a soul weapon? Even a human soul weapon!"

"He did not fight it. He could not, when it was made of people he is obligated to protect." Raizel's voice was quiet and calming, but everything else was _noisy_. He managed a sound of complaint, but his hand only twitched when he wanted to stick it out from beneath the covers to wave for them to _go away_.

Another hand found his.

"Are you _sure_ they're not bonded?" Urokai's voice sounded irritated that the Lord seemed to think it was amusing to tell him an obvious lie.

A contract?

If Raizel wanted his soul, or his blood, they would be his for the asking. No, not even that; if only he wished it, they were already his. That seemed the clear and obvious truth to his half-dreaming mind.

Perhaps the depths of his devotion should have frightened him, but it felt so natural. Those who had the ability to protect _must_ guard those in need of protection.

He must be at Raizel's side, as objects fell because they must go to their proper place.

His hand rested in Raizel's, and all was right with the world.

"…I'm not sure. _Are_ they?" the Lord sounded _very_ amused, which was worrying.

It made Raizel feel uneasy, so Frankenstein suppressed a grumble and pushed the covers down, using his free hand to lever himself up into some approximation of a sitting position, although he couldn't help rubbing at his eyes instead of opening them.

"Lord!" Gejutel exclaimed.

"Calm down, calm down. I don't think it counts as manifesting a soul weapon in my presence if it manifests itself."

Someone had pulled a weapon in front of a reigning monarch? That was an execution-worthy offense. A shadow passed in front of Frankenstein's closed eyes, and he opened them to see the Lord leaning forward, red eyes alight with interest as he reached towards a dark mass curled up in Frankenstein's lap. It crackled warningly at him.

Wait. It, not they?

"Fragments," Frankenstein said distractedly, and wished for a cup of tonic. "They only captured fragments of souls." That was a relief, that there weren't entire people trapped in this weapon.

"No, there were entire souls in there, but that's not what I'm sensing from it now," the Lord said thoughtfully. "It looks like it partially disintegrated, or they escaped, and this is the energy those souls left behind. I'd say it counts as a soul weapon. I wonder how long it will be able to stay out? I wouldn't think for very long, even clan leaders have limits on how long they can call out their soul weapons, but Raizel _did_ just Awaken you." The Lord's hand had inched closer and closer, carefully held low and non-threatening. Someone that ancient would have picked up how to approach wild animals at some point. Or could nobles perhaps speak to animals, the way they picked up human languages?

The darkness did take a swipe at him when his hand drew close enough, and Gejutel, Ragar and Urokai all gasped when they smelled the blood in the air. The Lord's other hand waved behind his back for them to calm down.

"But Lord!" Gejutel protested. The wound was insignificant, healed in an instant, but the effrontery!

"Blood," the Lord said thoughtfully, his hand patting the top of the dark mass. "Perhaps because it was born from people who had theirs taken from them? A vampiric soul weapon: what _will_ they think of next..."

Would it try to drain people of their blood? No, it seemed content now, and when Frankenstein carefully touched it, it didn't attempt to wound him. Was it satisfied by what it had drawn from him before, or because it had just fed on the blood of such a powerful noble?

The Lord withdrew his hand, and Frankenstein froze when Raizel reached down. What if it…

The darkness pressed up into the Noblesse's hand.

"Don't you _dare_ ," Urokai hissed, warning it not to harm Raizel.

The darkness hissed back, then curled away to push itself into Raizel's hand, the way a dog did when hoping for affection. Raizel pulled his hand away gradually and the darkness followed it, coming closer to the edge of the bed.

"Hmm," the Lord said with a tone that warned everyone in the room that he'd had an idea. He reached out to tap the darkness with a finger. "If it contains blood… Awaken," he ordered the soul-creature that had taken his blood inside itself.

Power surged outwards from it as Frankenstein covered his eyes and the clan leaders all took a step forward before realizing that it would be extremely inelegant to grab the Lord to pull him away from the potential danger.

"Lord, was that appropriate?" Gejutel asked when the sense of power… had it faded or simply focused?

"Well, if I hadn't done it, Cadis Etrama di Raizel would have," the Lord pointed out. "Of course he couldn't leave it like that, when a loose pile of fragments like that might have fallen apart the rest of the way and taken Frankenstein's soul with it."

The human in question opened his eyes. A bird the color of blood floated above Frankenstein's bed, containing flashes of that same lightning.

"Are you _certain_ you haven't contracted with him?" the Lord asked, and Frankenstein saw him smiling at Raizel. "That looks like a manifestation of your power to me. I thought my awakening would call forth the power of my blood within it."

"Frankenstein gave it some of the power I used to awaken him," Raizel said, tilting his head to peer at the bird. It did the same to him. "Instead of forcing it out of him, he gave to it of the power he had to release the souls and then keep it from falling apart into nothing." He reached up to pat the bird's head. When he lowered his hand, it folded its wings to perch on his wrist.

Ragar and Gejutel were as stunned as they would ever allow themselves to look. Urokai was glancing around, visibly wondering what all the fuss was about while the Lord grinned, very pleased with himself. "The Noblesse might not be able to possess a soul weapon, but if a human contractor can? And you thought it would be a waste of time to leave your mansion for this long." He waved a finger at Raizel chidingly, although he was smiling too broadly to be displeased.

"A human with a soul weapon," Ragar said, impressed. "Truly, the Lord is wise."

* * *

When Frankenstein had met Sir Krasis Bluster, it hadn't taken five seconds to see that he was a stuffed shirt of the highest order. No wonder the Previous Lord had given him that 'request' to not let his eventual child turn out like him.

Now Karias was poking at his lab equipment the way the Previous Lord had when he was first given a tour of the treatment room, although the young noble was commenting that it was 'cool' and 'shiny.'

Little Rajak was up on the ceiling, diligently scrubbing at where an unexpected reaction had sent smoke up to leave soot on the timber of Sir Raizel's home. Frankenstein wouldn't let human children experiment on their own _quite_ like this – nobles were far more durable. Still, it was promising that he was pursuing how to make something relevant to his abilities as a Kertia on his own initiative.

Absently, Frankenstein pulled Karias away from where Rozaria was paging through one of his books in search of interesting things to set on fire to observe the precise colors of the component atoms.

He hadn't expected the Lord's request for him to come spend a few years tutoring Raskreia to turn into running a small school, but it was a welcome relief after… what happened. To his research. They might have managed to stamp out the human organization who brought corrupted power when Frankenstein first began his research, but a mere century later it had sprung up again and had the power to corrupt the knowledge Frankenstein meant to share.

They might have found Ignes Kravei, but as long as there was corruption among the nobles or the other immortal race, this cycle could simply repeat itself. Without the excuse of a student to teach, at first he would have felt as though he was abandoning humanity to come here, but was it his fault that this had happened? He had kept Sir Raizel away from his duty for so long, even if he was assured that it wasn't long at all by the standards of nobles.

There came the anticipated knock at the door. He needed to head off Urokai. "Rousare, would you give Karias the rest of the tour for me?"

"Of course, sir," said the Landegre with more than a little of his father's dignity, looking up from the book of heroic sagas Frankenstein had copied from memory, illustrating them somewhat, as a reward for students and to encourage them to read languages as well as speak them.

Muzaka gave him a wave, leaning around the ranting Urokai.

"You can't come here to run away from your responsibilities!" Urokai was saying testily, shaking a broom at the Werewolf Lord in lieu of Dragus. "What if poor Raizel decides to help you because you can't keep your subjects under control? Do something about your werewolves! What kind of Lord are you?"

A far too soft one, Frankenstein knew, but honestly, he'd _told_ Urokai not to discourage Muzaka's visits, no matter what the Previous Lord said, since Frankenstein wanted to learn the personalities of the powerful werewolves from him, in order to help identify the criminals themselves if Muzaka continued to be so slow about it. "Urokai, the important thing is that he's Sir Raizel's friend." Mentally, he added, for Urokai's hearing alone, _"And even more important is staying abreast of the situation before Sir Raizel is forced to intervene."_

"Well, you're not eating any of Sir Raizel's cakes," Urokai warned him as Frankenstein gestured for Muzaka to please, go in through the door. "I can't stand this irresponsible werewolf. What does Sir Raizel see in him? It's one thing for him and the Lord to show interest in a human when you're so much like Sir Raizel," Urokai went on, and Frankenstein wondered what exactly it was he'd done to be added to the short list of people Urokai fussed over. Perhaps simply listening to him, and being a human who would come visit him even when Urokai was dragged back to Lukedonia, away from humans and the chance to socialize? Zarga Siriana did his best to keep Urokai company before Frankenstein and Raizel returned here for a longer stay and Urokai moved in to Raizel's home, but he wasn't up to dealing with Urokai's talkative nature.

Of course, it was useful to have Urokai's help with the housekeeping and the children. It made Raizel so happy to have so many people here.

For a moment, he let himself indulge in simply sensing his connection to his bonded. Raizel was sitting on the balcony Frankenstein had added on to the room with Raizel's favorite view, well-supplied with tea-cakes and feeding crumbled pieces of one of them to Hugin, the soul weapon bird perched on his wrist quite tamely.

Urokai's warning aside, it would be impossible to keep Raizel from feeding some of them to Muzaka, especially since Urokai had gone to fetch an exotic fruit Muzaka told Raizel about in order to make them.

The True Noblesse was quite content, and recovering well from being forced to execute traitor clan leaders before he met Frankenstein.

And as long as _all of them were found and eliminated before Raizel had to act_ , the Noblesse would continue to be well.

Feeling that there was no one but Urokai here to see, Frankenstein let himself display a sinister smile. He knew which clan leaders were nervous of the Noblesse. Quite advantageous to be able to pose as Raizel's vulnerability, an only-slightly-less-weak-than-usual human who doted on children and didn't have a suspicious bone in his body.

Of course, it meant that he and Ragar had to conduct their training well away from Lukedonia, but watching over Raizel in his absence helped keep Urokai content. Everyone knew that Hugin was so much weaker than a _real_ soul weapon, so no one but the Lord seemed to have wondered what it meant that Frankenstein could keep it manifested almost constantly.

"So you're helping me then?" Urokai demanded.

"My apologies, I was checking on Raizel to be sure that Muzaka wouldn't disturb him too much. You were saying?"

"You're cooking up something in that lab of yours to turn his fur bright green, if he's so determined to haul Sir Raizel off to muddy jungles."

"Hmm. An excellent idea," he said, clapping his hands together. "Do you mind if we enlist young Karias as well as Rajak for the actual application of the dye? It's important to keep new students from feeling left-out."

* * *

 _I have some snippets in the modern day of this AU, but I need to write more scenes before and after them for there to be postable._

 _Tradio arranged for Urokai to go there so he'd end up taking the fall, and kept Zarga from finding out what was going on to try to bail him out. Zarga is furious about this. Urokai saw this Frankenstein as 'small child' instead of 'threat to Raizel/competition' and his assumption of superiority to Frankenstein and lack of Tradio's manipulations means he ends up seeing Frankenstein as an asset._

 _Frankenstein sees this as, well, the way canon!Frankenstein pushes Regis' noble buttons to get him to pick up the trash while Regis still sees him as 'human it's ok to Jedi Mind Trick,' but he still ends up fond of Urokai (well-meaning idiot, company for Raizel) and they're partners during the hunt for Raizel in the timeskip. Or then again, I should get on those giftfics and then write the modern day arc, so you can have this stuff in prose instead of A/Ns._


	7. Part 2 Chapter 1

_I thought the future arc of this fic was going to end up only one chapter because I'd lost the muse (or it got eaten by Bonded, whichever), but there'll be at least two more chapters since I needed to turn exposition into actual scenes and then I started thinking about how an alternate timeline Union would be different when Frankenstein and a clan leader have been trashing their bases for centuries instead of Frankenstein needing to play dead so he could search for Rai in safety despite not having any backup._

 _NHOrus speculated that M-21 and M-24's behavior in their first arc vs. their second might be due to them being on withdrawal from the pills (and wondering if the Union used drugs in those pills to help reinforce their institutional sociopathy/keep their mooks generic mooks without consciences), which is an interesting theory! Next time I read through Season 1 I'll consider it._

* * *

"Pick up those two," the red-headed noblesse said, dragging the infected's body behind him on the ground with one hand and pointing at Jake and Mary's bodies with the other. "You're coming with me."

"What if we don't want to?" M-21 asked, wondering what the hell he was doing, when this noblesse (what else could he be) had killed Jake and Mary so easily, along with the infected.

"Ugh…" M-24 grasped at his chest and hurriedly reached for the pills.

"M-24!" All M-21 could do was get between the noblesse and his friend, but all they did was watch.

"You're coming with me," the noblesse said firmly, once M-24 was on his feet again. "You're already involved in the creation of a mutant – go off on your own while one of you is sick and you won't like the consequences, trust me. I'll never hear the end of it either."

Before they were given another chance to object, they were herded away from the blood-splattered abandoned Union facility at spearpoint.

* * *

They stopped short when the elevator opened on a lab – thank god the noblesse they were following hadn't noticed. He just threw the infected's body over into a corner and walked up to a cot to shake someone in a lab coat awake.

They heard a groan from the scientist as he twitched, rolling over to reveal blond hair. Definitely a noblesse; normal people weren't that pretty. "I know this must be important, Urokai…"

"I found the mutant and… oh, never mind about the Union scum now. You have more patients."

"Patients?" Blue eyes looked at them groggily. "What…? Nevermind. It never rains but it pours." He stood up and went over to a cabinet, removed two pieces of glassware and walked towards M-21 and M-24, stopping a good distance away and holding the beakers out to them. "Label these with your names, cut yourselves and pour some blood into them."

"Cut ourselves?" M-21 stared.

He was stared at blankly for a moment before the scientist wondered, "Do you _want_ anyone coming near you with a needle?"

It was a rhetorical question, but M-21 shook his head quickly before he changed his mind. Who knew what that needle might have in it.

"If Urokai brought you here instead of an emergency room, I assume you both have enough enhanced healing to take care of shallow cuts," he said, leaning forwards to hand M-21 the first beaker, then M-24. "Do you need scalpels or something?" he asked tiredly, pushing back hair that had fallen in front of his eyes as he turned his back to them and headed back towards the cabinet. "Once the blood's in the beakers, go lie down on the scanning beds over there. Once you and the blood are scanning, I can go back to sleep until the results are in…" He looked up at the clock on the wall. "Which will give me seven minutes until I next need to check on my other patients."

"If that's all, I can start the scans," the noblesse said, motioning at the scientist for him to lie down.

After the beakers were snatched out of their hands, M-21 and M-24 were herded towards scan tables with a pushing motion. The noblesse's spear had vanished somewhere while they were staring around the lab. It was a lot smaller than the Union labs they were usually in, designed for a few high-quality enhanced humans instead of mass-production of crap like the M-series. Or enhanced noblesse? Did noblesse even do enhancement? But why else would they have a lab like this?

The scan tables finished first. "You can stand up now," the noblesse told him. "Don't make too much noise. I'll wake him when the blood results are done."

By poking him with the blunt end of the spear, this time.

"I'm awake," the scientist said, sitting up groggily, rubbing at his eyes.

A tablet was shoved into his hands.

After taking a moment or two to blink, the scientist started reading rapidly, eyes darting around the screen. "The grey one has a werewolf heart."

M-21 blinked. What, a werewolf heart? Him? Why would Crombel waste something like that on a failure? It should have been yanked out of his chest and installed in another experiment by now.

"It'll adapt to sort the damage from Union incompetence out eventually as long as he doesn't strain himself enough to become destabilized, although there are a few obvious ways to speed that up that obviously no one at the Union bothered to try." The scientist closed the file without even bothering to ask any questions. "The other..." M-24's results prompted a disgusted groan. "Get him out of my lab and into a bedroom with his friend and some tea. His body is producing adrenaline and stress hormones at levels noble biology isn't designed to take. _Please_ tell me whoever thought this was a good idea, and designed that excuse for a medication, has already been stabbed?" he asked, glancing in the other noblesse's direction.

"I found them with two Union agents, not scientists."

"Yes, you were tracking Master's coffin – you wouldn't have taken time out of that to go base-raiding." The scientist rubbed his eyes.

Base-raiding?

"Your compatibility problems are more serious," he told M-24, turning to him and looking almost apologetic. "I should be able to whip up a better excuse for a medication in a few hours that will keep the symptoms under control, but right now I have two other patients I need to monitor around the clock, so while there are a few different treatment options we could pursue, since you're not in any immediate danger I just don't have the time to consider experimental treatments. Not to mention that I am exhausted and exhausted people make mistakes," he added, suppressing a yawn. "Talk to Urokai if you have any questions, and feel free to make yourselves at home." With that, he went back over to the cot and fell down on top of it.

They were glad when the noble said, "Well, follow me," and they could leave the lab.

* * *

"This will be your bedroom," said the red-haired Noblesse – Urokai? He opened the door and waved them inside. "You can have the one on the right," he told M-21. "The one on the left is Regis' room. He hasn't reached his majority and needs his sleep, but don't worry about waking him up – we don't get frightened by noises in the night the way you humans do. You lie down," he said, pointing at M-24. "What kind of tea do you want?"

"Uh…" M-24 said when the noblesse kept looking at him, waiting for a response.

"I don't want any tea," M-21 said.

"That's up to you – you're not the stressed out infant. We don't have tea bags in this house – I'll bring you hot water and the tea leaves." He nodded. "That way you can see what you're putting into what you drink."

With that he left, sweeping out of the room without fully closing the door, and M-24 finally started taking off his hat and coat. "There's another noblesse in that direction," he said quietly. "I think Frankenstein and his patient were also noblesse."

A knock on the door, and they could see the redhead through the gap in it, or at least M-21 could make out dark green and his hair through the gap. He stood there while M-21 and M-24 looked at each other.

A second passed, and another second, while the noblesse just stood there. Finally, M-21 blinked. "Come in?" he asked doubtfully.

Only now he nudged it open, and they could see him carrying a pile of cloth. "We have nothing else that will fit you, so I've stolen Muzaka's bathrobe for you and his pajamas for your friend," he said unrepentantly, putting the clothes down on a table by the door. "Please, keep them. _Please_."

What was with that note of disapproval? It worried M-21: did he not like their clothes or something? They couldn't afford to anger someone powerful enough to swat Jake and Mary.

The noblesse kept on chatting. "I'm doing the laundry while Frankenstein's treating Sir Raizel, so don't worry about any bloodstains – although there's a bathroom through there, if you want to shower."

With a noblesse coming in and out? But he was already out the door again.

They had a couple of minutes to see that the bathroom was unusually large and the other door led to a walk-in closet when there was another knock.

"Come in," M-21 said quickly this time. Maybe once the tea was up they could tell him to leave them alone so they could supposedly go to sleep?

He put down a wooden folding table, and two… electric pitchers? "These are the kettles," he told them. "Use the dark green one for the herbal teas and the pale one for green and white teas – I'm not bringing you anything caffeinated when you must be so stressed after those awful people," he told them, completely oblivious to the fact that having a noblesse waving a spear at them and haul them across town jumping from rooftop to rooftop – and then into a _lab!_ – was definitely stressful. "The water will be warm by the time I've brought up the teas and tea-making things. I'll bring you a book so you can look up what the different teas do and how they taste. It will tell you how to make the different kinds, and what the tea leaves and different herbal infusions should look like."

If it was a real book, it might be trustworthy, but it was probably possible to soak drugs into tea leaves so they looked right, right?

Except doctors _didn't like_ the experiments taking anything but the exactly calibrated amount of drugs. Or maybe that was why the book, so M-21 and M-24 would give themselves the exact doses. Or…

M-21's ears caught rattling outside the door this time before the noble knocked. They stared at the wire frame holding what had to be dozens of little ceramic canisters in different colors. It was plonked down on the table by the door that held the clothes, accompanied by, "Some of them might not be ideally fresh, I was in North America for a few months – I can't really shut down the percentage of the US's military recruitment they funnel right over to the Union," he said, frowning, "and they certainly won't let me, not when if it was shut down the Union would take random civilians instead of military-age 'adult' men – although _I_ don't see how that makes it any better, when the Union just turns them into helpless children. Not that they don't also take random civilians, but the Tenth Elder wanting his supply steady gives them _some_ leverage with him when three different Union officials decide they all want the latest celebrity and it's a problem for them to have to find five body doubles of every starlet and heartthrob and tutor them extensively in the original's life and experiences. Or else it's such a bother to cover up, and then the Union blames them and uses that to extort more concessions. The Union likes to remind whatever human nations think they're the most powerful who the _real_ power is, and at least before they could split the burden with Russia…" Out the door again, talking more to himself than to them.

This night just really wasn't getting any less confusing.

"Who are you guys?" M-24 dared to ask when the noble returned.

"You really don't know who I am? Sir Urokai Agvain, rogue noble, 'how dare the nobles attack the Union when this is _humanity's_ world now?'" He rolled his eyes. "Or rather, the 'superior' humans' world now."

The two M-series looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Well," he said, still sounding put out. "It's not your fault they treat you like mushrooms, but clearly I haven't been doing my job right if you've never heard anyone at the Union curse my name. It's so difficult to maintain a reputation when they cycle through agents so quickly – I put the fear of me into one design generation and then there's another batch of poor brainwashed people running around. And I can't go base raiding _now_ , I need to take care of things here while Frankenstein's exhausted and help him look after Cadis Etrama di Raizel. I'm not leaving them alone in this house with that _Muzaka_." They saw fangs in his mouth for an instant, but he seemed more grumbly than likely to attack anyone. "Oh yes, I found gourmet hot chocolate packets in one of the cupboards – I'll apologize to whoever they belong to in the morning, so get something warm into you. If Frankenstein thinks it will help he's usually right about these things." Instead of watching to see if they obeyed, he said, "Come downstairs if there's anything else you need. I'll be checking on people and seeing if there's anything I need to do to get ready for tomorrow," and left.

* * *

Drinking the hot water really did help. "It's a little like drinking blood," M-24 said, surprised. "Maybe if I add some sugar…?"

M-21's eyes widened and he started going through the little canisters for anything that might make the water look more like blood, in case that made a difference.

* * *

When M-21 heard noise in the hall outside he tensed, but it had been hours. And they were promised pills for M-24. He was going to have to risk it. One of the doors in the hall opened, and M-21 froze. First because he went damn, caught, and then because when he looked up he saw grey-brown hair framing an oval face, a strange, perfect, eldritch beauty that stopped him in his tracks.

He didn't need to see the red eyes to know that this was a noblesse. They had to be, even though the ones last night, even if they were too damn pretty, they weren't… they looked like supermodels, but this was a…

The goddess sighed, turned, and went back into her room.

When he could move again, his nose twitched. He had no idea what he was smelling, but he realized that he wanted some.

Was it just instinct, or some clue to the lost memories? Maybe a favorite food?

It was wanting to see what it was more than trusting them enough to want to risk eating any of it that drew him downstairs.

The noblesse from last night was wearing an apron. Dark green again. With that and his hair, the only thing that would have made it more like that holiday was adding some white to the ensemble.

The white was in the hair of the two teenage-looking noblesse sitting at the table.

"Does your friend have any foods he likes?"

It took M-21 a moment to realize that was addressed to him. "What?"

"Does your friend have any foods he likes?" the noblesse asked again. "Comfort food. He saw a lot of dead bodies and being in a house with a lab must be worrying him, the poor child. We need to keep him calm or he'll have more of those attacks and I'll have to drag Frankenstein up here to do something about it when he should be sleeping."

Drag the scientist up here, instead of dragging them up there?

"Well?" the noblesse prompted him. "Or should I just pick something and start cooking? That way, you can watch me cook."

If he picked something random, the noblesse might not have the ingredients tampered with in advance, if M-21 made sure the noblesse used the supplies these other noblesse were eating out of. So he nodded and let the noblesse chatter, introducing the noblesse at the table as Regis Landegre and Seira Loyard. "The children will be spending the day at school."

The problem with staying down here to keep an eye on the noblesse was that he wasn't back upstairs by the time M-24 came down after him.

"M-21?" he asked, looking around at the noblesse in the room. Was everything okay?

"I'm watching him cook," he said, and M-24 relaxed a bit.

The goddess he'd seen earlier came down the stairs, holding a hand-mirror and carefully applying something to her nose with a brush as she walked.

"And this is Ximine Siriana," Urokai Agvain said.

"My apologies," she said to M-21 with a slight bow. "I was on my way to ask someone if my make-up was adequate. I was unaware there were humans in the house other than the principal."

"Make-up?" M-24 asked, mystified. "Can't noblesse…"

She colored slightly, and M-21 stared at her face. She was still pretty, but not in a way that froze his brain. "I have not yet reached my majority. Although I am able to keep my height from changing, I am not yet able to maintain a form other than the one I am used to taking, and my parent had never seen a human. Fortunately, make-up and wearing the male uniform can conceal most of the inaccuracies, so I am able to attend school with Seira and Regis instead of waiting until I am no longer in the uncanny valley."

"She's not the only reason the Lord has mandated that anyone who wants to be a parent needs to pass a test on human anatomy," Urokai said, rolling his eyes. "Thank goodness the _new_ Lord is letting nobles learn about the humans and the outside world. You don't know how lucky you have it," he told the three of them. "In _my_ day…"

"I hope you don't think that he is what nobles are like," the short one said to M-24, cutting off Urokai. He frowned at Urokai. "If you're assisting the Noblesse's Bonded, you should be setting a good example! I'd heard rumors, but I still can't believe you're this inelegant and talkative."

Ximine covered her mouth as she gasped, but the other noble girl ignored them. Urokai's eyes narrowed.

"Who is setting a bad example?" he demanded. "When you just used that word in front of a small child?"

Small child? Who was a small child? The noble boy was the smallest kid in the room.

"I don't care about an authentic human cultural experience… No, if that's what you want I'm _washing your mouth out with soap_."

Regis opened his mouth to protest, but Urokai leaped over the table, grabbed him and left the room in a single blurred motion.

"Sir Rousare is very elegant, and Sir Gejutel is very distinguished," the white-haired girl said, sipping from her tea. "Regis has gotten the impression from Shinwoo that adolescent rebellion is an important part of the human experience, and is attempting to meet the requirements and get over that phase quickly, so he does not have to act inelegantly in front of the Noblesse."

" _The_ Noblesse?" M-21 asked. "Aren't all of you noblesse?"

"Only if we are speaking French," she informed him after shaking her head. "The Lord is still considering standardizing which particular words to use, and if we should use the Lukedonian words even though they derive from very old languages and use several sounds that few modern human languages use anymore. However, the current preferred terminology is 'nobles.' As for your question, all of us under this roof are nobles except for the principal and Lord Muzaka."

"The principal?"

"The houseowner," she told them. "We are boarding here to attend school in the human world and learn more about modern human culture. The Principal has placed Sir Agvain in charge of us; he must stay in the lab tending to Sir Raizel and Lord Muzaka."

"The blond doctor?" M-21 asked. She nodded.

"He isn't a noble?" M-24 looked confused.

She shook her head. "He is the Bonded of the True Noblesse. When he carries such a dignified noble aura, it is an easy mistake to make," she told M-24. "Yatarl Kertia was also attending school with us, but he was placed on active duty to observe the nearest Union facilities by Sir Agvain, and has already moved out."

M-21's enhanced ears heard a door open – the same from last night, the elevator to the lab. Footsteps. Speak of the scientist?

No, this was a man with grey hair with bags under his eyes. While he yawned, stretching, the redhead reappeared. "Yo, Uro-"

A red-eyed death glare shut him up.

He held up his hands in a peace offering, one of them holding a glass bottle. "Frankenstein sent me up with some pills?"

"For that child," Urokai said, pointing his spatula at M-24. "Put it down on the table and go back downstairs."

M-21 tensed. Was the noble threatening this guy to force him to return to the lab? But with a spatula, though?

The new guy looked longingly at Urokai's frying pan and sniffed the air. Then he blinked and turned to look at M-21, sniffing the air again. "Damn. I'm going to have to go kill Union guys as soon as we're done here and find out what the reprisal for that'll be _this_ time. How'd they get another kid? I thought I'd put the fear of the Lord into everybody about _condoms_."

"According to Frankenstein, he's a human with a werewolf heart, not a born werewolf," Urokai said, walking back into the kitchen to flip a pancake with his body between Muzaka and the pan.

"That's not much better. If they grabbed someone and keep 'em unconscious, they can cut as many hearts out of the poor bastard as they want." Muzaka rubbed his eyes. "Hope Frankenstein still has the data from the DNA tests we used to figure out the last one; whoever they grabbed might still be alive in there." He yawned and stretched, but the motion seemed to put him off-balance and he staggered. "Better go lie down again."

"Without even talking to him about what it means he has a werewolf heart?" Urokai tsked. "You're still so utterly irresponsible. Don't make poor Frankenstein do your job – if you know this cub has been through the Union, then obviously he's afraid of scientists and Frankenstein doesn't need to be upset by a cub being scared of him when he's got poor Sir Raizel to worry about. If you had _done your job_ , Muzaka…"

"I know, I know, you can kill me later after Raizel's better," Muzaka said, yawning again. "Right now I got to go lie down again, or whatever I say's not gonna make any sense. I'll talk to him next time I'm conscious for long enough, okay?" He waved vaguely at M-21 with a friendly smile and turned around to head back towards the lab.

M-21 wasn't sure why he almost took a step to follow him. Maybe it was just not wanting to watch someone end up in a lab?

Or was it something else?

* * *

 _Poor, poor Regis. He got trolled and Seira's letting it happen because it is a Learning Experience and that's what they're here in the human world for._

 _Regis was sent out into the human world for a few years before he reached his majority: since there's a safe place to send the kids in this 'verse, Raskreia can also send non-purebloods out for the learning experience. Since noble kids don't happen that often, Frankenstein waits until there's three or four at or near their age of majority so they're not alone among humans and have other nobles to try to figure this out with._

 _Notice how M-21 was calling Ximine a goddess? That was the shock we keep seeing people experience when they see Rai. Ximine can't pass for human without make-up, so she was very obviously a noble. There was no brainfreeze looking at Urokai since Urokai was doing the thing Regis did to try to keep people from freaking out over Rai at the photo shoot, only he's much better at it, so M-21 hasn't been desensitized at all, the way people just kind of get used to Rai after awhile. I just find it funny that in a house with the Noblesse, a clan leader and two pureblood clan heirs the one that gets called a goddess is the non-pureblood._

 _Backstory is that Ximine was never born in the original timeline: her parent didn't want to their child to be shamed by being born into a clan with no honor. After the slaughter of the Landegre, a lot of the Siriana and Agvain joined the Central Order Knights since ensuring that the Landegre's work did not go undone was all they could do to atone for the actions of their former clan leaders. The person who would have been Ximine's parent was one of Gradeus' victims._

 _R_ e _member how the werewolves said they could get noble test subjects whenever they wanted? It'd make sense if that was often Kuharu's job since he could chase down non-pureblood Kertia easy. Yatarl was one of the clan members Rajak unknowingly avenged by killing Kuharu - he went into eternal sleep at the age of 223, a few years before the webtoon started._

 _They're basically here to help establish one of the differences between the 'verses - Lukedonia is much better off._


	8. Part 2 Chapter 2

"Take at sunup, noon, sundown and as needed with food," Urokai read off the piece of paper wrapped around the bottle. "More than he thinks he needs – he may have a noble's appetite and a human's metabolism. Make sure he eats enough for a sick human with that much muscle."

He handed the bottle back to M-21, who looked at the paper label again. Still couldn't read it. "What language is this?" he demanded.

"Terrible handwriting," Urokai said, flipping the pancakes. "And alchemy codes, but he lets his handwriting be this bad when it's anything medical so I'm the only one who can read it. Meaning the Union can't, if they get their hands on it." He drew a knife from the knife block and opened the fridge door, taking out a carton of strawberries.

M-21 kept a careful eye on him, and in less than a minute, a stack of five pancakes covered in maple syrup, sliced strawberries, whipped cream and chopped almonds was put down in front of M-24. M-21 couldn't really be sure those were the only ingredients when he'd seen how fast Urokai could move, though.

"So they are from the Union?" Regis asked, and Seira looked up from her tea and biscotti.

"Don't bother them with questions; they'll debrief to the Central Order Knights only if they want to," Urokai said, shaking the spatula at Regis again before putting it down to crack open a fifth egg. They heard a ding. "This is early for Shinwoo. I wonder if Ikhan gave up on him. Wait a minute, Seira," Urokai told her when she stood up and headed for the door. "Will you two be alright with having normal kids in here long enough for these three to finish their breakfasts, or should I bring your breakfasts upstairs?"

Ximine gasped, raising a delicate hand to cover her mouth.

…Very delicate. M-21 blinked. She was wearing gloves, and her fingers were still so thin?

Not that he was one to talk about not looking human. Or being human, he though, snorting to himself.

Which made him notice a scent on the air – Muzaka's?

"Shh," Urokai told her. "What Frankenstein doesn't know won't hurt him, and look at this child."

Wait, did he mean M-24?

"The Union went and put a noble's heart in a human's body, when humans are so excitable." Urokai shook his head. "He needs to stay calm and avoid stress. If eating in bed will help, then even Frankenstein would _want_ him to eat in bed. Patients are more important than messes. Shoo," he told M-24. "I'll bring you up eggs and bacon when they're ready, and whatever else you and your friend would like."

M-21 looked to M-24, who hesitated but nodded. "Thanks."

If M-24 wanted to go back up, M-21 was going with him to keep an eye on him, but it did mean he couldn't watch what the noble put in their food.

"For all I know, that heart might have come from one of my clan," Urokai told M-24. "Which would make you one of mine, and in any case, you're a young noble and Frankenstein's patient, so you don't need to thank me. It's not like I did it for gratitude – but don't worry about being polite now, no one's going to expect you to know the proper courtesies when you're just a child." He motioned in their direction again, shooing them towards the stairs.

Urokai kept calling him that scientist's patients. Did that mean the scientist was definitely going to experiment on them? But 'patients,' not 'experiments.'

M-24 took his plate and M-21 followed him up the stairs, watching his back as the white-haired noble girl – Seira – went to the door to let some people in. This place was way too confusing: they needed to talk where hopefully they weren't being spied on.

* * *

Urokai did bring a few more plates up, but he left them alone after thirty minutes, so they came down again at noon in search of more food. M-24 really was looking better, or at least M-21 thought that color was 'better,' but who knew when they'd changed so much?

"Yo!" The grey-haired werewolf waved cheerfully from the kitchen. "What can I get you pups?" He seemed fine, nothing left of the exhaustion from earlier.

"Don't even think about touching anything but the drinks in the fridge!" Urokai yelled, raising a fist but refusing to get up off the couch or let go of a black-haired noble wrapped in a white… hospital gown? No, those weren't made of silk, and this one looked way too nice.

The new noble just looked in M-21 and M-24's direction. It was hard to read his expression, but he seemed calm and not displeased, unaffected by the red-headed noble who had lowered his fist to wrap both arms around him again. "Oh, it's so good to see you awake, I can't even stay angry with that irresponsible excuse for a Werewolf Lord," Urokai said, squeezing.

M-21 would have snickered and asked since when did nobles snuggle if it weren't for the fact he wanted M-24 to live.

The black-haired noble patted Urokai's red head and drank out of a teacup. M-21 sniffed the air – hot apple juice with spices? So they really did drink all that different tea and herbal stuff instead of blood?

"Hey, Frankenstein, how do you want your coffee?" Muzaka asked.

"In an IV, placed directly into my veins," they heard the scientist from last night say, with a break in the middle for yawning. One of the couches – the one where the two nobles sat – was backless, but one of them did have a back, and it had hidden the scientist from them until they were far enough into the living room that he must know they were there! Both of them froze.

"Oh hey, you've got soda!" The werewolf came out of the kitchen shaking a can excitedly. "You've got to see this Raizel, one of the cubs showed me-" Urokai tackled him back into the kitchen area, wrestling the can of soda away from him.

"Don't shake a can of soda and open it in here; you'll get everything sticky! Think about others for a minute – you'll upset Frankenstein when he's done all this work and Sir Raizel is finally awake!"

The black-haired noble, who had to be Raizel, sighed over his drink, but he didn't really seem annoyed. "There are sick children present," he said calmly.

"Right!" Urokai said, standing up and putting the soda can on a counter. "I've had hot nourishing soup cooking since this morning. Everyone should have a bowl. Except you," he said to M-24 and M-21. "You should have at least two bowls. You both need more food. _You_ ," M-21, "are too thin. I don't know how the Union expects its experiments to be strong on the slop they feed them…" He scowled, baring fangs, as he ladled soup into a bowl.

Of course the Union wasn't going to feed the experimental material good food. Wasn't like they were going to live long enough for long-term health to matter.

"What, no 'except the waste of space?'" Muzaka wondered, getting up.

" _You_ need to stay alive so Hugin can eat your soul and give the power to Sir Raizel. _For now_ , anyway _."_ Red eyes glared at him.

There was a groan from the couch. "Urokai, you're scaring the former experiments."

Urokai blinked and frowned at himself, hurrying to pour a bowl of soup. "I can't believe I implied that Sir Raizel would do something so inelegant! No, Sir Raizel had to use up a lot of his soul keeping Muzaka from _doing something stupid_ , so since werewolves recover from injury so quickly, it's the _least_ this idiot Muzaka can do to spare bits of his soul so Sir Raizel can heal. It's like blood donation," he told M-24, giving him the first bowl. "Sir Raizel is too nice to hurt Muzaka, when Muzaka is his friend, even if _friends don't put people in comas for eight hundred twenty years._ "

There Urokai went, glaring again. They should have been scared of someone so powerful with such a bad temper, but, M-21 thought, as he accepted the bowl of soup shoved into his hands, the fact that Urokai hadn't even drawn blood when he attacked Muzaka to stop him from opening the soda can? He wasn't going to think the noble was all bark and no bite, not when he swatted Jake and Mary like that, but it was like… like Sir Raizel was a sick comrade or something, and Urokai wanted to make sure he was okay.

Like Sir Raizel was his M-24. Huh.

When M-21 took a look at Sir Raizel, he saw the noble was looking at M-24, and indicating the empty space on the couch next to him with a tilt of his head. M-24 cleared his throat, looked at M-21, and went over to sit down.

M-21 nodded: good thinking. Make this noble happy, make Urokai happy. There was room for him to sit next to M-24, too. And if Urokai and Muzaka started fighting, they'd probably be careful not to hit Raizel when he was sick. That meant it was safer over here.

He could see the scientist now that they were on the other side of the couch he lay on: there was a red bird that didn't look like a normal bird sitting on his chest as he lay there with his blond head on an armrest, eyes half-lidded and barely awake. Then again, it wasn't like M-21 knew much about birds, but he was pretty sure their beaks, feathers and eyes weren't all the same color. Thing looked like it was made out of blood, slightly glowy blood.

M-21 winced when the scientist noticed they were looking at him and turned his head towards them, blue eyes blinking slowly as he smiled vaguely in their direction, still sleepy. So they could probably outrun him if they needed to. "How are you feeling?" he asked them.

Ohshit, a scientist wanted data on their conditions! "Fine," M-21 said, hoping that meant 'nothing to see here,' instead of 'you're adapting to the modification better than expected, we should take you apart to find out why and use it for _valuable_ experiments.'

M-24 was watching Sir Raizel eat his soup and trying to imitate him, M-21 saw out of the corner of his eye. Must be trying to avoid making eye contact with the scientist, and it was a good idea to learn how things were done here so they didn't make the powerful nobles angry.

The scientist gave him a small nod of acknowledgement, then covered his mouth with a hand to cover a yawn. "That's good to hear. Thank you," he said when Muzaka and Urokai put coffee and soup down on the table in front of him simultaneously. He reached a hand up to rub his temples when being in proximity to each other started them up again. "Honestly, Urokai, Muzaka… if you're going to flirt, do it in one of the shielded rooms downstairs. You're worrying my patients."

"Not a bad idea," Muzaka said, stretching. "A fight'll get my blood pumping so I'll recover a little faster."

"Just be careful not to bring the house down around Sir Raizel. Is there anything else you need?" Urokai asked, appearing at that noble's side hopefully. "Let me refill your cider… and bring you the kettle…"

Raizel was blinking, but he nodded thanks when Urokai poured more cider into his teacup. When they were gone, he looked across the table at the scientist, confused.

Frankenstein pushed himself up, taking the cup of coffee. "You're right, I shouldn't have called it flirting. That was cruel. To Muzaka."

Raizel looked no less mystified.

Frankenstein rubbed his forehead. "You know that Ashleen was killed by humans?" Raizel nodded. "It was set up by traitors among the werewolves… Ah. You knew."

Raizel sighed, nodded.

"You knew and you couldn't tell anyone or do anything that might reveal your knowledge without violating your duties." The scientist winced. "I was afraid of that. Well," he said, deliberately cheerful, "On a happier note, I still run a school – it's just in the human world, but we take nobles around their age of majority as students."

Raizel nodded. "It has been explained to me. I would like to attend. It seems the world has changed a great deal while I was asleep. Urokai has said that he will tell me the basics while you rest." He gave Frankenstein a pointed look. "Humans evolved to bear the power of noble souls, and that power can still produce mutants. The power of werewolves is different. I can feel that you modified yourself for this purpose, but channeling the power your soul weapon drains from Muzaka through your own mind and soul into a bond meant to channel noble power..."

It was all Greek to M-21, but he made notes of the keywords. It was important to try to figure out what the jargon the scientists were tossing over their heads meant.

The scientist winced, looking sheepish. "We have tested it. Not channeling it into a bond," he added hurriedly, "but I was already able to wield the power Hugin drained from my opponent. And Muzaka is a werewolf: he's adapted to bear Hugin's attacks, and his soul heals itself faster now. He wants to do this for you. He doesn't want Ashleen's legacy to be your death."

"You must sleep, Frankenstein. Your mind and soul can heal themselves while you sleep, and Hugin can rest in your soul. Urokai and the children will ensure that I adapt to this world."

"But there are so many things I want to show you… but for that to happen, we both need to live." Frankenstein bowed his head. "Physician, heal thyself… and on that note I should get something into me that isn't coffee."

Raizel looked at him.

He smiled. "And then I will sleep," he agreed.

And once he finished inhaling the soup the scientist really did lie down, pull his legs up on the couch and fall asleep with the labcoat over him.

Leaving M-21 and M-24 with only one noble watching them and a lot of soup left in the pot. M-21 didn't quite like leaving M-24 sitting next to the noble alone, but M-24 was sick, so M-21 should be the one to go refill their bowls.

It was good, even if there were so many ingredients M-21 didn't have conscious memories of tasting that he didn't have a prayer of telling if there were any drugs mixed in.

"Muzaka lost his daughter," Raizel said into the empty air. "She was half-human and was killed by allies of the Union. It is also the duty of the Werewolf Lord to raise any young ones without parents. He will protect you, if you allow him."

And all that was great, _if_ they could trust these people. For some reason, it seemed like they could believe what this noble told them, and that should be suspicious but…

"Urokai is… not a quiet person, but he cares a great deal. If you are unhappy he will listen, always, because of how much he values those who listen to him. It is Frankenstein's nature to take care of others, even at his own expense, but he needs to sleep, and I will need to watch to be sure that channeling Muzaka's power is not damaging him." He looked at M-24. "Your heart is that of a noble of the Ru Clan. They are the ones who spend their lives training to protect others." Red eyes met M-21's. "Your heart is the same as Muzaka's," he said, frowning. "He will want very much to protect you and help you grow stronger. I hope he is not too bothersome."

"I really do have a werewolf heart?" M-21 asked.

Raizel nodded. "The neurons are here," he said, touching his hand to his own chest, over where the heart would be on a human, "and spreading outwards. Most of the werewolf cells have spread to your hands, because you desired claws to defend your packmates above all else."

"Spreading?" Was that why he was growing stronger, why he didn't need the pills anymore. He should have been glad that he was getting stronger, but hearing it like that… He'd already known he wasn't human anymore.

The noble looked at him, and it felt like M-21 should know that expression, but he hadn't seen it on the face of anyone but his comrades… or had he seen it before, in this crazy place? "You call on the power within you to protect those precious to you. If you and they are safe, then the power sleeping within you will sleep."

Safe? Like that was ever going to happen.

* * *

Frankenstein was _technically_ asleep… just the stage closest to the surface, the one that people often mistook for being awake, and then woke up the rest of the way in the middle of the night.

M-24 (that was the name he'd written on the beaker, at least) was clearly enough of a noble to sense other nobles and enough of a human to find them comforting. Urokai would have put him next to Regis, Frankenstein had no doubt – Ximine's aura was weaker and would be harder for M-24 to detect, and Seira was a Loyard.

Raizel's aura was as kind and sheltering as Raizel himself was, so sitting next to him would help the poor fellow to relax. The way the long-missed feel of him was helping Frankenstein fall asleep, even with two Union-enhanced humans near his dear Raizel when he was sick and weak like this. The Union might not have a biological weapon that could get past a noble's ability to remove unwanted substances from their body, but the Tradio Clan could produce a poison that worked on other nobles so clearly it was _possible_.

However, he was certain Raizel was correct in his identification – no one knew more about noble auras than Raizel – so he could rest easier. Hopefully giving the enhanced humans a chance to get used to his presence – and in M-24's case, the feel of Raizel's aura mingled with Frankenstein's – would let them relax around him. He hated frightening children, but that was centuries of propaganda for you. Then again, if they hadn't recognized Urokai, who knew whether or not they knew his name? Not to mention that Urokai was the scary one, while he was the one the Union wanted to catch so they could make use of him again.

Raizel would have refused to let Frankenstein attempt to undo the damage if he had spent that lifeforce sending clan leaders to eternal sleep. The cost to the Noblesse of performing sentences was a check on the Noblesse's power: it was his responsibility to pay the price for his decision to send someone from the world.

Restraining a berserk Muzaka, on the other hand, was an action that harmed no-one. The Noblesse – Raizel – should not have to suffer for it, even the most bound by tradition would agree with that.

Under normal circumstances that would have been difficult, but Muzaka's life and soul restored themselves at an incredible rate even by the standards of the contenders for Werewolf Lord. The power of werewolves varied, perhaps even more than the power of nobles. Only a half-dozen werewolves were as powerful as noble clan leaders even before the traitors were revealed. Their advantage was that the constant trials for Werewolf Lord forced them to learn to fight seeking victory. Before Gejutel and Ragar began to train Frankenstein so he could summon and control Hugin, the difference in skill between high-ranking werewolves and nobles had caused some of the clan leaders to overestimate how many werewolves were on their level.

With Hugin draining Muzaka's life and soul, that power could gradually be transferred first to Frankenstein's soul, and from there to the Noblesse's.

The price of that, if it could be called a price, was that Frankenstein had to spend as much time as possible with his mind and soul focused on Raizel's presence to open their bond.

And the risk of going mad and acquiring werewolf traits, the way mutants became twisted parodies of nobles, but Frankenstein ought to know what he was doing, after all these centuries.

* * *

"Anything else?" the Lord asked.

Ludis Mergas stepped forward with a bow. "Lord, we've received another complaint from the Union. The Agvain Clan Leader has been causing a great deal of noise in the human world." Again.

"Remind them that Urokai Agvain is one of the Clan Leaders who refused to honor the Previous Lord's request to join him in eternal sleep. I believe it is still their position that those Clan Leaders are no business of Lukedonia's." Honestly. If they wished her to recall and punish Urokai, then they had best force the others to obey her order and return to Lukedonia so they could be forced to finally join her father in eternal sleep.

Better late than never.

"Yes, Lord."

Ah, yes, Regis' ceremony of adulthood was almost upon them. "Mergas," she said before he could step back. "Where did this incident allegedly take place?"

"South Korea, Lord. They…" Ludis looked embarrassed. "They claim Urokai was responsible for the release of a mutant that slaughtered many humans at a hospital and also destroyed a Union base."

…

Everyone stared at Ludis.

They had to be wondering if the Union was serious. Clearly they weren't even trying. Unless they'd delegated harassing Lukedonia with nonsense to some underling who knew nothing but the Union's propaganda. Not that this would be new, but clearly there was no point in dispatching even a token investigation team to allow the heir to Landegre's Central Knights to have some command practice in the field.

"Thank them for informing us that Dragus will soon be returned to Lukedonia, and inquire into when we can expect the returns of Dolor and the two other Soul Weapons remaining outside Lukedonia."

Honestly. With the Noblesse still missing, his bonded avoided the Union blockade every couple of centuries to perform Cadis Etrama di Raizel's duty to the best of his ability, but Urokai Agvain was under more frequent supervision. And they thought he'd survive releasing a mutant? How like the Union to release a fake mutant on a hospital, when they and their plagues were the reason so many of the humans were in them.

Then again, if there _was_ a mutant, where had it come from?

Lukedonia ignoring the possibility of mutant activity? If she was cavalier about the possibility, assuming it couldn't possibly be one of her people instead of Lagus', that peacock would try to peck her eyes out the next time he visited. "Landegre."

"Yes, Lord?" Rousare bowed.

"Collect your heir," hmm, "and Seira J. Loyard from their current location, and give them my orders to conduct an investigation into this incident under your supervision."

"Thank you, my Lord," he said, and turned to go from the room with a final bow at her gesture of dismissal.

Was the note of gratitude there for more than the chance for Regis to gain some experience? Likely just the chance to see his son.


	9. Part 2 Chapter 3

When Frankenstein woke up, he smelled food in the air. Ah, good, the two experiments Urokai had rescued must have found the lunches Urokai left for them and heated them up. He couldn't sense Urokai within the house: either he and Muzaka had gone to one of the _very_ shielded rooms, or Urokai had decided to go base-raiding. "Did he take Muzaka with him?" he murmured.

He felt Raizel's assent, and let out a breath. Still so familiar, after all these centuries. So base-raiding in another country, then, instead of taking out the Union's current facility in South Korea. It was a good idea to keep their focus away from this country.

Speaking of the Union, there was something he needed to ask Raizel… and there were some things it was better for him to tell his bonded, so he could let Muzaka and Urokai realize that he was informed instead of either of them feeling they had to tell Raizel. Where to begin? "The traitor werewolves: Muzaka told me that you made them kneel. You were trying to warn them that if they proceeded with their plans, they would be committing a crime against power and you could eliminate them."

"I tried to spare Muzaka and return home to you. Their plan used the sacred duty of the Noblesse as a tool of destruction," Raizel said, his eyes dark with sorrow. "But that is the nature of the Noblesse. There is nothing wrong in the weak seeking a way to defend themselves against the strong. Their only offense was killing those humans along with Ashleen, to kill the witnesses and preserve their own lives at the expense of the weak."

The Noblesse could not act unless someone committed a crime against power. "A half-century after you vanished, Urokai and I were able to… extract the details of the plan from some of the traitor werewolves. Another half-century after that, we found Muzaka in a Union base, looking for you. I brought him to Lukedonia and we had the Previous Lord and Mergas Clan Leader's assistance when we woke him up, so we were able to confine him until the Previous Lord snapped him out of his madness and forced him to listen to us."

"The Previous Lord?" Raizel asked. "That Lord has gone into eternal sleep?"

Frankenstein winced, but nodded. "Five hundred and twenty years ago. Urokai was asked to not accompany him into eternal sleep, but continue his search for you. Gejutel also remained awake… as did Gradeus, Lagus and Edian. We kept a close watch on Lagus, of course, but no one suspected that _Edian_ was still one of the conspirators, much less that he would use _her_ as his channel of communications with the human Union." He rubbed his temples. "Zarga cut ties with Lagus after Lagus sent Urokai out into the human world to serve as a scapegoat for the mutant plagues; we thought that Edian had done the same after we reported to the Previous Lord that Lagus' allies were responsible for your disappearance."

Raizel sipped his tea silently. Frankenstein ached to see his sorrow. The Previous Lord had chosen to go into eternal sleep, it was what he wanted for his own reasons, so Frankenstein didn't mourn him. It was inconvenient for the world that he was gone, of course, but the only sad thing about it was that the Previous Lord had to go into sleep worrying about Raizel.

"The human Union has grown stronger: they managed to recreate my research somehow, and are using the ability to create plagues to hold the human population hostage against both nobles and human governments. Urokai and I have done what we can as rogues, but we can't target the Union elders. Not when they have bioweapons on dead man switches hidden in human cities. The Kertia have been locating and mapping what they can for centuries, but in order to have a prayer of finding them all, the very _first_ step would be to read the minds of all the Union Elders, without letting them find out they've been mindread, to find out who _else_ we need to mindread." Frankenstein's eyes met those of the Noblesse.

Who nodded once, over his cup. "I will only be able to do this for you if they have committed offenses against power," Raizel cautioned him.

He chuckled, relieved. Reading minds cost Raizel far less power than executions, and this strategy would force Raizel to spare them. If only until others could safely kill the Union bastards. "We're speaking of the Union, and they haven't had to be careful to stay within the rules out of fear of you for centuries. They've forgotten there even _are_ rules… and a great many of them never knew. Or were made to forget." Blue eyes closed for a minute and then looked at where M-21 and M-24 had sat with a note of sadness in his eyes. Hugin pushed its head up into his hand, and he pet it absently, downing the remainder of his coffee cup.

The intercom chimed. Raizel turned towards it curiously, but before Frankenstein could have gotten up (if he was planning to, anyway), the door opened and high schoolers both human and noble began to pour in.

"Hey, Principal!" Shinwoo said, dumping a couple of convenience store bags on the table. "So you're still sick, huh."

That wince wasn't caused by physical pain. The sight of those bags meant incoming crumbs and spills. ' _Regis will clean it up as soon as they're gone,'_ he reminded himself. ' _They are my adorable students.'_ Forcibly smiling up at them, he said, "I've been cleared to come home; they just want me to rest up a little longer before going back to work."

Yuna let out a sigh of relief, removing a box from one of the bags and opening it to take out a small chocolate-filled biscuit and tempt Hugin off his chest. "That's good."

It was touching that they didn't notice who else was in the room until they were reassured that he was going to be alright. Suyi and Ikhan, the most observant, were the first to pause, eyes wide. Yuna was feeding Hugin, but when she looked up, she turned to see what her friends were looking at. When Shinwoo sat down, a bag of chips already open and offered to Seira, he finally noticed Raizel.

They were used to nobles – Seira and Regis had been in their homeroom since freshman year, and Ximine and Yatarl's homeroom was just across the hall - but they had the typical reaction of reasonably healthy teenagers exposed to someone extremely attractive. Raizel, long-practiced at ignoring humans going through this until they had a chance to pull themselves together, drank his tea.

Ikhan raised a hand to adjust his glasses to hide the blush on his cheeks. Shinwoo cleared his throat self-consciously.

"This is Cadis Etrama di Raizel," Seira said, sitting down next to Shinwoo, who stared at her for a moment, although he wasn't complaining. Normally she sat next to Regis, since she considered herself responsible for him. "He will begin attending our school in a couple of weeks."

"So Raizel, you're replacing Yatarl?" Ikhan asked.

Suyi shook her head. "In European names, 'di Raizel' should be the last name, right? The di or de or something like that is lowercase and means 'of something."

"You may call me what you like," Raizel said.

"It sounds a little like the star Rigel… But maybe just 'Rai?'" Yuna asked, looking up from Hugin again.

Seira, Regis and Ximine's eyes widened, but Raizel nodded before anyone could say anything.

Shinwoo smiled. "So Rai, then!" He bowed, then remembered that the nobles were supposedly European and reached across Seira to offer Raizel his hand to shake. The hand he'd been eating chips with…

"…Sir Cadis Etrama di Raizel?" Regis looked at him, lost.

"I would like to be known as Rai," Raizel – Rai – said, quite content.

It made Frankenstein smile, because yes, he was like that. He lifted his hand to his mouth to smother a yawn. "Forgive me, I'm taking up the entire couch, aren't I? I'll get out of your way."

There was a chorus of no he didn't have tos, the children not wanting him to have to move around on their account while he was recovering. "I should rest now so I'll be awake by the time dinner is ready," he told them, getting up and waving away Shinwoo and Regis' outstretched hands. "I'll be alright," he said, "I don't need your help getting upstairs."

Regis looked doubtful for a second, then his eyes widened and he quickly hid that, too polite to imply that Frankenstein was weak or something even if he had needed to lean against Urokai to get up the stairs a few times before giving up and just sleeping in the lab even though labs weren't for sleeping.

He walked up the stairs carefully, smiling to himself. 'Rai?'

Yes, Raizel would be happy here.

* * *

M-21 and M-24 had heard a lot of noise coming from downstairs a couple of hours ago, but it had finally mostly stopped. M-21 stuck his head out the door and sniffed the air. That had to be dinner.

M-24 was already putting on his coat to go downstairs. M-21 looked at him. "Do you want to hide in here?" M-24 asked him.

M-21 snorted. "No." If they hid like they were weak and afraid, then they'd definitely end up in that lab.

He tried to swagger downstairs, looking around the room suspiciously, like he was daring them to try anything.

No one seemed to notice. "You two are at the foot of the table," Urokai said, pointing to two place settings that were next to each other. One of them had a lot of elbow room free, so M-24 took it, putting him next to the smallest noble kid. That left the seat next to Muzaka for M-21.

The black-haired noble sat at the head of the table, with Urokai and the scientist sitting on either side of him. The light brown-haired noble girl was stuck sitting between Urokai and the werewolf, but the other noble girl had the bad luck of sitting next to the scientist. Seira didn't seem fazed by it, though, reaching out with chopsticks to serve herself from one of the platters on the table.

That was convenient, M-21 thought: they could look to see what the others were taking, instead of having to worry that what was put on their plates was contaminated.

"This is good," M-24 said to Urokai.

Right, that made sense, M-21 thought. Try to get in good with these people.

"Seira made dinner," Urokai said. "She's very talented."

She nodded at M-24, pleased.

"You are too," M-24 said to him. "Thank you for all the other food."

Urokai snorted. "Talented? No I'm not. When I started cooking I burned _everything_. You humans are so inconveniently fragile and so is your food. But you're welcome to all the food I make. Eat more of it. Seira will be helping me keep everyone fed because I have Union bases to level. We can't have them bothering us when we have children in the house and Sir Raizel is still recovering. Thank goodness Seira's responsible enough that I can leave her to take care of Sir Raizel and his human."

"His human?" Who? There weren't any humans here. Was the poor bastard down there in that lab?

Noblesse, nobles, whatever: they used mind-control. And these people had to be a lot more powerful than M-24. M-21 felt his heart hammer in his chest, an ache in his hands as his claws wanted to come out, even knowing he was too weak for it to matter. Could he do anything but try to run if they decided to…

Urokai pointed his chopsticks at the scientist, who nodded, rolling his eyes slightly when Urokai wasn't looking at him. "This is Dr. Frankenstein. Don't believe what the Union says about him… or did the Union even tell you anything about him, either?" Seeing their blank looks, he scowled. "Typical."

Seira had told them that the scientist wasn't a noble, but human?

 _Shit_. M-21 had hoped he was a werewolf or something, there would have been a chance he might leave them alone then. Of course a human scientist was going to want data on human enhancement experiments. He was grateful he hadn't eaten yet; he felt sick to his stomach. Why was this a surprise! He had known better than to just trust these people, trust anyone with M-24!

"Oh, right!" Muzaka slammed his fist into his palm. "Frankenstein told me you've got problems developing your powers because you weren't born a werewolf," he told M-21. "Best way to solve that is to get out there and spar. Using your powers to fight will get 'em sorted out. Regis here told me there's an island the noble kids can use for that. We can go over there and-" He blinked down at the piece of broccoli that had somehow ended up in his mouth.

Urokai pulled back his chopsticks and shook them at Muzaka. "This child gets sick when he's stressed, didn't you hear that? How do you think he'll feel if his friend is carried off to some island?"

"He can come with us," Muzaka said, after swallowing.

"And watch you beat up his friend so his power will awaken and let him defend himself?" Urokai snorted. "Seeing a friend injured in front of him isn't stressful at all."

"But he'll feel a lot better if his littermate can protect himself against those Union bastards, right?" Muzaka pointed out as Ximine pushed her chair back and bowed an apology to Rai, excusing herself from the dinner table to get out of the line of fire.

Seira and Raizel sighed, Regis looked disapproving and the scientist winced. Muzaka and Urokai were completely oblivious.

" _And_ it will get 'em out of this house where there's a lab," Muzaka continued, which made M-21 perk up. "They've got that medication, right? Will that last them long enough for me to bring them back over here if you need to do something for them?" he asked the scientist.

The blond looked thoughtful. "You'll have to bring a noble with you," he said, and _that wasn't a no_. "To watch over M-24 and help him learn how to calm himself if he becomes upset. Other than that, I have no objections. On the contrary, if you can awaken M-21's healing factor fully and help him become stronger, that will let me focus on Sir Raizel."

"Seira has plans for this weekend," Regis said, putting down his chopsticks. "I'll go."

The shorty? He couldn't be that strong even if he was a noble, when he was just a kid, and Muzaka was oblivious. This might be their chance to get away, with that medication… But they had the same problem as with the Union – how were they supposed to get more of the stuff? If the scientist was focused on the important experiment and forgot about them, maybe they might have a chance? Especially if M-21 could get stronger. Unless they just wanted to trick him into cooperating with something that'd make him a better test subject, but he had to take that risk, for M-24.

"Will we get to take the jet?" Muzaka asked, excited. "You've got to try those, Raizel, the humans have machines that can fly now, and they can do all kinds of stunts!"

"No," the scientist said quickly. "You'll have to take the helicopter – the island doesn't have a runway that can accommodate a fighter jet. Urokai _please_ don't risk crashing just because you have Muzaka with you, those things are expensive."

"I stole them from the Union," Urokai said, shrugging as though this was the opposite of a big deal.

"Yes, and then they forced some country to build them another dozen or else."

"We can't let the Union have the capability for unpowered underlings to make stealth trips the Kertia can't track or keep up with," Urokai said firmly.

Dr. Frankenstein pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not everyone can just walk off crashing in a jet going above Mach 1. You can't fly like you usually do when you're transporting a patient who needs to keep his heart rate down."

"That idiot Muzaka was the one who wanted the children to take the jet, not me. _I'm_ not the one who goes around endangering children."

M-21 saw M-24 swallow. Urokai wasn't angry at them, but it wasn't good news when powerful people were angry, even if it wasn't at them. Whoever had to back down might go and look for someone to take it out on

"More tea, Sir Raizel?"

Urokai and the scientist both shut up and turned towards the head of the table, where Seira was standing next to Raizel pouring tea into his cup. He nodded his thanks, she nodded her head and went around to M-24. "Would you also like some more tea?" she asked him.

"I can't believe I let Sir Raizel's teacup stand empty!" Urokai wailed.

That noble stood, walked around the table, and patted Urokai on the shoulder. M-21, M-24 and Regis stared as Seira ignored the entire thing, occupying herself with refilling M-24's teacup.

* * *

 _You know how Raizel can go 'it's not my style' or 'more sugar,' when Frankenstein needs distracting? I figure that for the past few years (they started attending Ye Ran freshman year) Seira's been the one providing the household's supply of chill. She's very glad Raizel's awake, because as fond as she is of her housekeeping teacher and her stabbing teacher, she's already got a little brother she's responsible for._


	10. Part 2 Chapter 4

_Concerned about the divergent characterization here – Regis and Muzaka._

 _Regis' teacher in canon is Karias; here he's been attending Ye Ran since freshman year, and living with Frankenstein, so that's what he's learned is proper form when teaching people things._

 _Muzaka seems like a friendly guy, but it was pointed out to me that in canon he tends to use very short, simple sentences, which is strange for someone who loves to talk… Except canon points out that he was just as isolated as Raizel, in a different way, since every werewolf could potentially attack him to take his job. When he finally has a close relationship with someone who genuinely cares for him and isn't going to attack him (Ashleen), he's running away from that responsibility too, or is it more interpersonal contact than he can handle when he's only gotten small doses in the past?_

 _Here he's had 820-plus of hanging out with another extrovert, since Urokai was also assigned by the Previous Lord to make Muzaka do his goddamn job, so his language is a lot more natural-sounding/actually freewheeling instead of just desperately wanting to be freewheeling. I've been thinking about the verse and reconsidered what their relationship would be at this point._

 _In canon, Frankenstein's rather tsundere with Ragar and Gejutel since they're nobles and he's obligated to hate (non-Raizel nobles – children also get a pass). However, he's still friends with them. Urokai is obligated to hate Muzaka because he's… well, not really the reason Raizel is missing, he got caught in the same trap, but Urokai has the self-awareness to know that he nearly ended up among the traitors himself, so he could have blundered into being just as at fault as Muzaka. Yes, Muzaka has a responsibility as Werewolf Lord to not suck at his job, but Urokai has a clan he's responsible for._

 _Muzaka is used to his family backstabbing him, randomly attacking him, etc., so it takes sterner measures to go 'I Don't Like You' at Muzaka than Frankenstein just sniping at Gejutel every so often. The problem is that_ open _hostility is seriously a relief to Muzaka, after all those millennia of everyone telling him that everything was fine, and a high level of hostility/snarling is pretty normal/healthy in werewolf culture. It's when it goes quiet that things have gone from pack argument to trying to kill someone…_

* * *

They took a helicopter to the island, and the noble kid – Regis – took the controls. That left Muzaka free to chatter with them on the flight.

"So, let's get started," Muzaka said when they got there, throwing himself out of the helicopter. M-21 and M-24 followed him, M-21 relieved to be on solid ground.

Regis removed his headphones. "I'll need assistance unloading the helicopter and getting our supplies put away correctly."

"What do you need help with that for?" Muzaka wondered. "It takes like five minutes."

"I am not a Kertia," the pint-sized noble said with dignity, jumping out of the helicopter and going to open the cargo hatch. "Seira and Yatarl were in charge of our food supplies on our previous visits to this island, so I don't know the kitchen layout."

"At least you know where all the cleaning supplies and clean sheets and stuff are," Muzaka said, clapping him on the back. The noble stiffened for a second, glaring at Muzaka out of the corners of red eyes, before taking a breath and forcibly calming down. Being huffy at people probably wasn't elegant. "We need to get this place ship-shape before we leave, or we'll never hear the end of it," he warned the two enhanced humans.

"Heh. Urokai?" M-21 asked.

"Urokai's nothing." Muzaka winced. "He just gets hissy, it's Frankenstein you need to worry about. Stuff being messy bothers him. He winces and pinches the bridge of his nose and I feel like a jerk. One time he had to go lie down. It's my fault Raizel wasn't around, so you know… Anyway," he said, pulling himself together, "let's make sure this stuff doesn't spoil. You're humans, so it might mess you up."

Muzaka reached over Regis to take out two big boxes, hefting one on each shoulder and walked towards the building. He stopped a moment before he got to the door. "Wait," he said. "Who's doing the cooking?"

"If you had checked the inventory, you'd see that Sir Urokai sent us with a week's worth of frozen, premade food," Regis said, shifting one of his two packages on top of the other while he pressed his palm to the door, opening it.

Muzaka winced. "A week's worth of _vegetarian_ meals, aren't they."

"Yours and mine, yes," said Regis, proceeding through the door.

"We can go fishing!" Muzaka realized. "That's calming, right?"

Regis turned around to look at M-24.

"I don't know how to fish," M-24 said.

"If you decide you're interested, I'm sure there's equipment somewhere," Regis said.

"Yeah," Muzaka agreed. "Frankenstein. All of his bases are stocked like the humans might have to nuke a plague tomorrow."

M-24 and M-21 ended up helping Regis put stuff away – well, M-24 did. M-21 was more going through all the cabinets to see what he could find. The meals weren't hard to heat up, but there was only a week's supply. They both knew how to fly a helicopter, but it might be bugged.

Once everything was put away, Regis went back outside to shut the helicopter down properly. M-24 went with him to get a look around outside. M-21 kept exploring the building.

"What do you think of the place so far?" Muzaka asked when they met up again for dinner.

"Isn't there a lab here?" M-21 asked. He hadn't been able to find a door or entrance, and he'd been to a lot of Union bases, he knew most of the tricks.

"Yes," Regis said, "but I don't know where it is or how to access it. Sir Urokai remotely activated the treatment room so it will be ready it is necessary, but we'll have to call them if someone is injured and we need to be let in. The Union has been trying to steal Sir Frankenstein's data and equipment for centuries, so they are careful even with us."

'Us?' That had to mean Regis and the other nobles, since M-21 wouldn't trust Muzaka with any kind of secret and he and M-21 were from the Union.

"These places were built to put up people they rescued from the Union," Muzaka said casually, as though defying the Union like that was an of course, barely worth mentioning. "And members of my family when we needed somewhere out of the way to train, too. The lab won't have anything but medical equipment. Nothing that'll record data. Don't worry if we're training and you put a swipe through a cliff and the lab was in there." He speared a piece of sesame-encrusted something and tossed it into his mouth. "So! Want to get started early tomorrow? We can play a little. I'll get a look at what you've got and then we can go for a swim, catch some fish. Water's pretty cold; adapting to that'll help you put some hair on your chest."

M-21 frowned. His transformation only affected his fingernails. Even if werewolves were supposed to grow fur, was it really that easy? He looked at M-24, who looked at Regis.

"The principal said that I should teach you how to meditate on your physical form," Regis said, putting down his tea. Seriously, there had to be something with nobles and tea. "Nobles can control our bodies and our appearances: it should not take long for you to learn how to control your heart rate, and then we can move on to shapeshifting."

"Shapeshifting?" M-24 asked, eyes widening.

That was a noble power, wasn't it. M-24 was going to have a transformation too? It made M-21 smirk: look at the Union's rejects now.

Regis nodded. "You won't be able to hide your aura, but unless you're already attached to that form it won't be hard for you to maintain an appearance that the Union won't recognize."

"I'm not attached to all the scars." M-24 scowled for a moment. "Can I get rid of those?" he asked Regis.

"Unless you've started to see them as a part of your identity," Regis said, making a bit of a face. Distaste? For them or for the Union? "They're inelegant," he said, as though he was saying, 'Eww,' and then nodded. How did that settle the matter.

"Elegance is a noble thing," Muzaka said, waving in Regis' direction. "Werewolves do everything with our strength." He flexed the muscles of one arm for a moment, grinning. "Nobles do stuff with their will. It's why the strong ones are all prissy about something or other: they have to get really uptight about having things _their_ way."

Regis sniffed. "Elegance and integrity are _true_ strength, not…" He paused, blushed. "Forgive me," he said, embarrassed.

"Clan Landegre didn't like werewolves much," Muzaka said to M-21. "Don't take it personally. Can't really blame them: when I found out what my family was doing _I_ wasn't very happy with werewolves for awhile. But!" he said, punching a fist into his palm. "I've got why you shouldn't go around bullying the weak beaten into all of them by now. Although a few of them need another taste of their own medicine every few centuries."

"So werewolves and vampires really were enemies?" M-21 asked, hiding his worry with a smirk.

"Contractors and werewolves?" Regis stared at him. "Of course they were! Werewolves used to eat humans, and they preferred to hunt and kill the strong. Before the nobles were ordered to Lukedonia, a great many contractors _became_ contractors to defend other humans against werewolves. That was why no one made the connection between the sale of illegal contracts and the werewolves taking over human settlements over a thousand years ago. Grandfather thought that the werewolf threat was part of why humans were so desperate to make contracts, but he never suspected that they might be _allies_."

"Worse than that, cub," Muzaka said grimly. "Maduke's scum had fun killing the humans that got uppity, but humans that couldn't fight back were 'boring.' Since their allies were making contractors, they had some of those humans turn other humans into vampires so they had something more entertaining to hunt." He shook his head, eyes glowing softly. "It was my job to see it, I was Lord, but sometimes I still can't believe my own family would stoop so low. They just couldn't admit that Maduke was wrong without facing up to the fact they'd become monsters."

M-21 snorted with contempt. "It's the same at the Union. People like Jake hate the scientists for doing that to them, but they end up having to believe that it's alright for scientists to do that to people, otherwise they get culled. And end up like us." He mimed slitting his throat.

Regis was staring at them, looking almost sick. Like he knew how the Union worked and he still couldn't believe it. Could a noble's skin crawl?

Muzaka nodded sadly. "I hear about it from Urokai. A lot of the humans the Union takes, they end up having to believe the Union's bullshit out of self-defense. Or to make sense out of what was done to them, or something. And then they have to be killed, otherwise they'll just to back to the Union. Good thing you guys are too smart to end up like that."

"Don't worry, the Union never tried to make us think it would let us live if we bought into being 'superior humans,'" M-24 said.

"We were there for everyone else to be superior to. We were supposed to die so they could feel 'chosen.'" M-21 pulled back his lips from his teeth, and blinked when he realized the quiet growl in the room _wasn't_ coming from his throat.

"Sorry about that," Muzaka said, hurriedly smiling again when he found them looking at him. "Didn't mean to scare you or anything," he told M-24. "So! I teach M-21 how to kill Union bastards, Regis teaches you how to keep them from finding you, and we go from there. Sound like a plan?"

They both nodded. Like hell they were passing this up, _especially_ if these people weren't as nice as they seemed. The more they learned, the more powerful they became, the more of a chance they had.

* * *

"I'm not stripping," M-21 told Muzaka when they reached the beach. "Doesn't this place have swim trunks?" A wetsuit might defeat the purpose, but he'd had enough of being naked for other people to stare at in the lab. The first thing they always did was put clothes on, as soon as they could. M-21 had his vests and M-24 wore a coat not to conceal himself, but because layers were nice.

"Oh, right." Muzaka nodded. "Come on, let's go find Regis."

He'd seen the small noble clean up after dinner (telling M-24 not to assist, it was his job), but sewing clothing now? M-21 followed after Muzaka.

"Hey, Regis!" Muzaka yelled before just walking through some bushes into a clearing.

M-21 wondered why the noble was sitting under a waterfall. M-24 was sitting on a picnic blanket on a rock, dangling his feet in the stream.

"What?" Regis asked, opening his eyes.

"Cub wants swim trunks."

Regis sniffed, giving M-21 a nod of approval. Skinny-dipping was probably inelegant. M-21 just didn't like being naked for other people to gawk at: he'd had enough of that. "What color would you prefer? And the length?" the noble asked, standing up and walking out of the stream over to M-21.

Wait, what the hell? "How are you dry?" M-21 demanded.

"I don't feel like having water on my body, so I got rid of it," Regis said with offhand dignity.

M-21 just stared at him. How was this kid just used to the elements, to the world doing what he wanted? Holy shit, nobles really were aliens.

"Union victims aren't used to having any control over their bodies at _all_." Regis looked disgusted. "So I'm having him get his feet wet before he starts sitting under the waterfall. Meditating under waterfalls is a traditional training technique of the Ru Clan, so it should help M-24 improve his focus and control over his powers."

"The Ru Clan?" M-21 asked. That was where Raizel said the heart came from, but "Aren't you a Landegre?" So why wasn't Regis teaching M-24 what he knew?

"The Ru Clan trains for precise control over their power, since that is the basis of their techniques. Clan Landegre's techniques-"

"Are inelegant," Muzaka said, grinning.

Regis tried to glare, but it came across as more of a pout. M-21 was used to the strong ones at the Union having to remind everyone else that they were strong. Seeing someone acting this way raised his hackles, made him brace for attack, but so far Regis hadn't kicked either of them around to show them who was boss. So far. "Our techniques are designed to eliminate the enemy quickly, before the fight can cause too much collateral damage. Allowing the innocent to be harmed because of pride: _that_ is what's inelegant."

"Sure, cub. So, about those swim trunks?"

"He hasn't told me what color and length he'd like," Regis reminded Muzaka, and they both looked at him expectantly.

They were giving him a choice? Really? His disbelief must have shown on his face, because Regis said, "I wouldn't make you wear anything that's not your style." The noble looked a little offended.

"Grey," M-21 said, thinking of his vest. "About to here?" He held a finger against his thigh.

"Is it alright if I turn your pants into them? I can turn them back later," Regis reassured him.

"Darn," said Muzaka. "I was hoping you'd just up and do it."

"Will I be able to change clothing too?" M-24 asked.

"Of course," Regis said, ignoring Muzaka. "It's easier than holding a form: clothing stays put, while your body will want to look like your self-image. I was going to suggest that you do it for practice later, as long as you don't strain yourself."

There was no way M-24 wasn't going to strain himself, for a power like that. Instant new disguises? Just changing their faces wouldn't help if they were being observed from a distance, but colors, the outlines of their bodies? "Go ahead," M-21 said. "I want to see it."

Regis nodded. "Thank you for the opportunity to demonstrate. I'll do it slowly."

M-21 had expected the fabric to move against his skin, twisting into a new shape. Instead, it peeled, or maybe flaked away, like he was shedding a skin. It was over in seconds, and he suspected that Regis was going slowly for M-24's sake.

That was… if any noble could do this, even a fake one like M-24? All Regis had to do was look at M-21, and he'd be in chains before he knew it? M-21 reached down: they felt like swim trunks. Weren't swim trunks make out of synthetic stuff? If nobles could make chemicals, what about drugs? Could they just put a patch of a knockout drug on his skin?

"Sorry," Regis said, looking embarrassed. "I didn't mean to alarm you."

"Not your fault kid," Muzaka said, giving M-21 a thoughtful look. "Guess I'm not going to have to give you the 'why we don't fuck with the nobles,' speech. That's good. Look at him," he said, waving a hand at Regis.

The noble kid was giving them a 'what are you even talking about?' expression. He definitely didn't look tired or anything. Was it just that easy for him?

If M-24 could get a piece of that power? Forget mind control and the infected: if nobles could make clothing, what about bombs!

"The Landegre are better at that kind of thing than the other clans, it's half of why the Union tries to kill as many of them as it can, but the clothing thing? They do that the way the rest of us breathe." Muzaka stretched. "Alright, ready to go work on your transformation?"

M-21 nodded. He wasn't going to fall behind M-24. He would never drag his comrade down.

* * *

It took M-21 a few exhausted days of only seeing M-24 at dinner, when both of them were about ready to fall over onto their plates, to realize something. It would have been better if he hadn't realized it while Muzaka's claw was about to hit his face. "Are you keeping us apart on purpose?" he demanded, once he could talk again. Muzaka was pulling his blows, just giving M-21 love taps… by _werewolf_ standards. The hits needed to be solid enough for M-21's body to take them seriously and hurry up and get stronger.

Muzaka grinned, folding his arms and nodding. "Yep. Doctor's orders."

M-21 roared. That scientist was responsible for this!

He lunged, but Muzaka easily batted him away, gave him a few claw-strokes and planted a knee on M-21's chest. "In order for your transformation to improve this fast," he told him, "I have to push you to the brink of death. I've been nearly killing you twice, three times a day. _How do you think M-24 would react to seeing his best friend and comrade nearly die?"_

M-21 froze, growl trailing off.

"He can't afford to get upset enough to go berserk right now. Nah, forget his health, because you know that's not what he cares about, not compared to you. How do you think he'd feel, to see you with your arm ripped off because you want to get strong enough to protect _him?_ That's why I've been making sure you have plenty of time to heal up before dinner," Muzaka said, removing the knee and helping M-21 up. "So he gets to see that you're okay, just tired, you get to see him, and nobody panics."

It made sense, but M-21 still glared at him, distrustful.

"Tell you what," Muzaka said. "If you want, I can work you a little less hard today…"

M-21 grimaced, but, "No." He had to get stronger, for M-24's sake.

It wasn't until the last day, when training stopped around noon so Regis could hand them lunches and dinners that could be warmed over a fire and vanish into the house to clean everything and move their stuff into the helicopter, that M-21 started to wonder: if his training was that tough, what was M-24's like?

Because M-24… M-24 wouldn't have accepted Regis going easy on him. Not when M-24 also had a comrade to protect.


	11. Part 2 Chapter 5

_Still in the arc with the Ms settling in. Since they want to know WTF is up with these people and are demanding more answers than in canon due to Urokai being talkative making it clear that they could actually get tons of random info, I'm not sure when I'll be getting to DA-5. The Ms need to at least get to hang out with the kids first._

* * *

The door opened before they could get there, and M-21 saw Seira calmly look Regis up and down before looking at the rest of them. That made sense: if Regis was her comrade and nobles could sense each other, then she'd want to see if anything had happened to Regis (courtesy of the Union experiments?) while he was out of range. "Welcome home," she greeted the rest of them, holding the door open.

"Oh, you're back. Did everything go well?" Dr. Frankenstein asked, looking up from his tea as the enhanced humans followed the werewolf and noble into the house. "How are you?"

"Fine," M-21 bit out.

Muzaka nodded. "My kid's toughened up enough he's not going to fall apart." He turned to the little noble, expecting him to continue.

Regis looked very displeased. After looking at M-24 for permission, he said that "M-24's not as bad as some. He can do without those pills now, but he needs more time and training before he can put his body back the way he wants it if something else goes wrong."

"Still, it sounds like they're doing better. Thank you." Frankenstein smiled at them, and turned to M-21 and M-24. "I'm afraid I need to give both of you a check-up," said the scientist. "Muzaka is the Werewolf Lord and the Landegre Clan have been hosting Union experiments and helping them with their conditions for centuries, but they're not medical professionals. You don't need to come down to the lab to give me a blood sample, but I also need to check three other things. One option is the scanning beds in the lab: they don't take long and don't require contact. If you'd rather not go down to the lab…"

"We'd rather not," M-21 said firmly, shifting in front of M-24 a bit.

The scientist nodded, unsurprised. "I can take your vitals the only-a-little-above-current-tech way, and Hugin can sample your energies, if you don't mind being bitten. It won't hurt much, if you feel it at all. The downside is that to check the third thing without using the scanning beds, I'll have to touch you. Is that alright?"

"Do it," M-21 said, sitting down across from the scientist. M-24 sat next to Rai on the couch.

The blond nodded, standing. "One moment, let me get the equipment."

He came up with two beakers and a small device like an alligator clip. "This will take your heart rates and blood pressure," he explained, handing it to Rai, who examined it. "Here," Frankenstein said, putting the beakers down at the table and taking Rai's hand, putting one of his fingers inside the alligator clip. "Would you mind letting Hugin bite you for the sake of the demonstration?"

Rai shook his head and held out a hand for the bird to perch on. He brought it to his shoulder, where the bird nipped at his hair, releasing it a second later. The noble's hair looked like it was the same length as before, so the bird wasn't actually cutting it.

"Do I need to grow hair?" M-24 wondered, frowning.

The device on Raizel's hand beeped, so Frankenstein took Raizel's hand and looked at it, removing the device while responding. "He'll just bite your aura." He held the clip out to M-24. "Would you like to go first?"

M-24 nodded, putting the clip on his finger before M-21 could say that _he'd_ go first. The bird hopped onto his shoulder. M-21 couldn't see, because the bird was on the other side of M-24's head, but it looked like the thing nipped his ear.

"Stung a little," M-24 said. "Not as bad as a needle."

"Hmm." The scientist sounded pleased. "If you're already able to feel that small a loss of energy, that's a good sign. Even baseline humans can use biofeedback: if you're aware of your body and soul's energies, you can use them to regulate each other." He closed his eyes. "Raizel, could you take Hugin for me?" The noble reached out a hand, letting the bird hop on to it from M-24's shoulder.

The scientist slowly reached out, touching M-24's temples with his fingertips, then putting his hands on either side of M-24's head. "I would show you how to do this," he said absently, most of his attention on whatever he was doing, "but if I wasn't able to control my own energies very tightly it would mess up the readings. No new brain damage, at least," he said, shifting his hands.

"The Union's drugs." The ones that wiped their memories. M-21's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why would he have _new_ brain damage?" he demanded.

"Transplanted nerve cells from a noble body, seizures if signaling back and forth between brain and soul put energy where it wasn't supposed to go…" The scientist moved his fingertips again. "Shapeshifting abilities and trauma can be an unpredictable combination. Your bodies are rebuilding themselves after what the Union did to you. We need to be careful they don't damage themselves while trying to figure out what's healthy for you now."

He let go of M-24's head finally, waiting until he'd pulled his hands back and straightened up to open his eyes. "There, all done but the blood sample. I'll get that last." He took the little device from M-24, and reached out a hand to Raizel for the bird, walking around the table to M-21 and handing them to him.

M-21 didn't need to be told how to use the thing: he'd watched. He ignored the bird standing on his shoulder as it leaned towards his hair. He felt a tug on his hair, maybe, and then the bird stepped back onto the scientist's hand. "Didn't feel anything painful," he said.

"That's good," said Dr. Frankenstein.

Clenching his fist, M-21 narrowed his eyes at the scientist. "Good? Something can take a bite out of me without me noticing?"

"There's no reason for you to suffer unnecessary pain. The closest thing to Hugin's abilities is called a blood crystal, and believe me, if one of those is draining you you'll notice," Frankenstein said, scowling for a moment.

"Not good?" M-24 asked.

"No," Frankenstein said. "If you're ready?" he asked M-21, hands reaching out but waiting for his nod.

M-21 was willing to just get it over with. The fingers weren't cold like he'd expected, but when they came in the scientist was holding a cup of hot tea. "What's this blood crystal thing?" M-21 demanded. It gave him something else to think about, too.

"Nobles don't feed on human blood, but blood is a medium that will give a noble access to your soul. A blood crystal is made from a great many drops of human blood, and can drain the souls out of all those people. All Union experiments have drops of their blood taken to add to the base's blood crystal during processing. Fortunately, the two of you have stabilized and improved your abilities enough that the blood they have is outdated, and won't be able to affect you."

"The blood crystals were first created to allow humans to enter eternal sleep when their bodies died," said Seira.

The noble next to M-24 sighed. "But my brother sensed those dreaming souls had power," Raizel said. "By taking their souls, he could restore his own."

"You know that what we're doing to heal you isn't the same," the scientist told him. His hands stilled on M-21's head, nearly pulled away, but he went back to work, hurrying to finish the exam.

"Muzaka is my friend, and I respect his will as well as yours. But there is a price for the power of the Noblesse, and I will not allow anyone else to pay it."

Frankenstein let out a sigh of relief, removing his hands as he did. "I admire your principles… But you are my patient as well as my Bonded, so if you start refusing treatment, I'll ask Muzaka and Urokai to help me."

"Nobles eat souls?" M-24 asked, disturbed.

"Normally no, they can't," Frankenstein told him, sitting next to Rai and taking his hand. "They need to spend at least three centuries acclimating to a blood crystal chip before they can use a full blood crystal without falling into eternal sleep within minutes."

"When Father captured a blood crystal, all of the Central Order Knights were tested with it. The ones who didn't get sick within seconds were handed over to Urokai. We know what it feels like if someone had a chip now, so no one on Lukedonia can do _that_ and get away with it," Regis said, and first proudly and then _ew_.

The doctor smiled. "Nobles are their souls, so a sudden, massive influx of chaotic energy in the form of foreign souls that want to murder them is rather like swallowing poison. If they haven't built up an immunity, any noble who tries to use the poor people trapped in a blood crystal will experience very immediate and painful karma."

"But what about our comrades?" M-24 asked, looking green.

Oh _shit._ The rest of the M-series! They'd died in a Union base, and they hadn't lived long enough to change enough for the blood to get outdated, if it even had a chance to when the scientists kept drawing new blood every day, sometimes _hourly_.

"Don't worry," Dr. Frankenstein said with sympathy that looked fake because it was totally out of place. Any scientist that showed sympathy was either going to get reeducated within days or faking it trying to get the experiments to be more cooperative. "We know how many years ago your enhancement process began, and no one's used a blood crystal between then and now. Nobles emit energy, and a noble using a blood crystal emits large amounts of very distinctive energy. Your comrades may already be safe: the blood crystal is the first thing secured when Urokai or the Kertia raid a Union base, so base security can't trigger the crystal along with the self-destruct to be sure there aren't any survivors."

"What do you do with them?" M-24 wanted to know.

"They are placed in the keeping of the Lord, who has more power than she knows what to do with. Poor woman can't even get angry without setting off earthquakes, so imagine what would happen if hundreds of angry ghosts were mixed in with _that_ kind of power." He shuddered. "They'd flatten her country. A blood crystal would ruin the control she's worked so hard for, and none of the loyal clan leaders have built up any resistance to the blood crystals. Even if Lukedonia is invaded, they won't use them: they wouldn't do them any good."

Or so he said.

"How do we tell if any of those blood crystals have our comrades?" M-24 wanted to know.

Frankenstein frowned thoughtfully, looking at the bird on Rai's arm. "Did you ever bite any of them?" he ventured.

"For tests, yeah."

"Do you think you would recognize them again? If you saw them. Which is a problem: some of those crystals have tens of thousands of Union victims within them."

Dammit, how were they supposed to find their comrades in that kind of crowd?

"I think you'd have better luck trying to identify the base where they worked on you and find out what happened to the crystal that was in that base while they were working on you. The crystal you need might not still be there anymore – they started taking them out and starting to grow new ones when they reached a certain size after losing a few too many of the ones with tens of thousands of souls. But Urokai would know more than I do about current Union policy – I've been focusing on the school for the past few years, because the children were getting to that age."

"Then we're staying here," M-21 said, folding his arms.

The scientist smiled, looking pleased. "If that's what you want, I don't see why not. Your results are looking good, so it shouldn't be a problem if you want to stay in the human world. But," he said, leaning forward seriously, "right now, your third priority after the immediate health concerns and your friends needs to be having as much fun as possible."

Silence.

A demand of 'what?' on his lips, M-21 glanced over at Regis, who just blinked at him, wondering what the enhanced human was looking at him for probably. That hadn't sounded strange to the noble at _all_?

What made him realize that even if the scientist had to be joking, _this was serious_ was the fact Muzaka wasn't grinning.

"You need to learn how to be happy," the scientist said gently instead of looking frustrated when the silence dragged on a second later and no one gave him the straight line. "The best revenge is living well, and you're going to need to relearn how to live well and treat yourselves and what you want as important if you want to get any revenge. It's very easy to be trapped by painful memories and hatred, crushed under that weight enough you don't do anything that gives you joy, and your memories were stolen from you. If as far as you know, life is nothing but pain? Then what the Union did to you will finish you off. The Union thinks it's extracted everything of value from you: they _want_ you to give up and die now.

"Don't give them what they want. You need to experience as much joy and happiness every day as you can. I realize this is going to be difficult," he said, sitting down, "especially since I'm about to offer you a job that will fill a lot of those hours with work. …Sorry about that. But it will get you out in the sunshine and fresh air."

"A job? What job?" And did 'outside' mean 'outside this house with its lab?'

"I could really use your help protecting the children," Frankenstein told them. "You may have heard that I run a school. Because of the internet, tensions with the Union have been running high and it's only going to get worse. Not to mention that the Union would kill off ninety percent of their people in a _heartbeat_ for a chance to kill Rai before he recovers, if they discover he's awake. Seira and Regis are clan heirs, and while all but one of the nobles with us have reached their majority, in the eyes of the traitors anyone under a thousand is an infant, so they'll see them as helpless children and very good hostages."

"If you don't want to attract Union attention, then you shouldn't keep us around," M-21 said, folding his arms.

"It's not quite that simple, but I can put you on a plane to Lukedonia as soon as Urokai gets back here to pilot it, if that's what you want. And of course Muzaka is willing to take you in."

"Werewolf, Werewolf Lord." Muzaka nodded casually. "You can come with your friend, don't worry about it," he told M-24.

"Regis, did you explain how nobles avoid being noticed, or were there other things you needed to focus on with M-24?"

"If the Union sends people who can sense nobles, won't they sense him anyway?" M-24 asked.

"The Union _has_ the genes that let humans consciously sense nobles, but for some reason Lagus Tradio just doesn't seem enthusiastic about the prospect of giving more people the ability to track and identify him. I can't think why," the scientist said with obvious faux innocence, inviting them to join the joke. "If someone _can't_ sense nobles, then it's very easy for a well-trained noble – and the children here weren't sent into the human world unprepared – to keep humans and werewolves from noticing them. Especially if those people are focused on someone else and think _they're_ the threat. The traitors know that I host noble children, but only for a few years once a century or so. Yatarl has gone back on active duty, so they have reason to believe that the children have graduated and gone back to Lukedonia. Regis has his ceremony of adulthood to prepare for, Seira could be assisting with those rituals and the aquatic clans are a closed book to the rest of Lukedonia.

"The Union would _love_ to get their hands on Regis for a good half-dozen reasons," he said, and M-21 saw M-24's eyes narrow. Sure, M-24 was always protective of the rest of them, Regis looked like a kid and M-21 didn't want the Union getting their hands on anybody either, but he was worried after M-24 spent that long with a noble. Who knew what happened?

He wasn't the only one who'd noticed that M-24 was looking at the mini-noble."Lagus used to visit the Landegre estate often. The defenses have been significantly upgraded, but so has Lagus."

M-21 smiled to himself bitterly. That made sense. "You want us to be bait. So if they scope out the school, they'll notice the traitors and ignore the nobles?" It was almost an improvement: at least this meant these people had a reason for keeping them around, other than 'the goodness of their hearts.'

The scientist nodded without a single trace of shame. "Yes. In an ideal world, they'll never notice the children. Not until they're too dead to notice anything."

"Lukedonia is at war with the Union," Regis said, nose in the air. "Under normal circumstances it's inelegant not to make an opponent aware you outclass them and give them a chance to retreat, but if the Union is attacking people who have already suffered at their hands..." Then they could get what was coming to them, said that look of disgust.

"Muzaka is very good at being noticeable when he wants to be," Dr. Frankenstein said, and Muzaka nodded, pleased. "But he has duties as the Werewolf Lord, and Urokai will also be in and out keeping the Union unaware of our location. If they scope out the school and identify me – and I'm really not disguising myself currently for exactly this reason – they will completely ignore you and focus on capturing me without attracting the attention of the rest of the Union. If I'm ever captured by the Union, they'll go to war with each other over which faction gets custody of me. None of them can afford to let the others have me," he said, and it should have been an arrogant declaration that he _mattered_ to the Union, when M-21 and M-24 didn't, but the scientist really didn't care, it was just one more factor to take into consideration. "Rai's still recovering, so I won't be at the school every day, and as their principal I can't accompany my students when they're hanging out with their friends or going on a grocery run. M-24, you're going to need to stay near a noble for awhile longer, so they can sense if something's about to go wrong with your energies. Guarding the school and walking around the city with the children will let you get outside the house."

M-24 was frowning. "What happens if we're attacked by someone a noble kid can't take? Or just enough of them I can't get them to hold still so Regis can hit 'em before he gets tired out?"

"Then you let yourself get captured," Dr. Frankenstein said calmly, "and you stay alive. I can give you an EMP-shielded silent alarm and quite a few more useful things I carry myself, but tell them about me, and if they're high enough-level to be briefed on me, they will treat you like you are made of spun glass. They are _dead_ if they so much as put a scratch on you before the Union has a chance to examine you. If they're among those the Union treats like mushrooms use your own judgment, but stay alive and we will find you."

He said it like he was totally certain. Not even a promise, just _fact_. "How are we supposed to know that?" M-21 demanded, maybe _because_ it almost seemed credible and he knew damn well that he _knew_ better than that. "You really think we'll believe you'll charge into danger to save _us_ when you've got noble kids and him," he pointed at Rai, "to worry about?" People who actually _mattered_?

Regis maybe, the kid was stupidly honorable, but it would be Dr. Frankenstein's job to haul him out of danger! The others too. The way Urokai had just swatted Jake and Mary, he could believe that he'd waltz in like whatever the Union put in his way didn't matter, like it was a grocery run, but they only had these people's stories to go on about his reputation, and there were stronger people than even Mary. If he could even _find_ them. Muzaka… it might be his job, since M-21 wasn't human anymore, but he was going to be gone most of the time? No, more than that, "You just admitted that we'd only be in that situation if you didn't have any backup!" With Muzaka and Urokai out of town.

M-24 was wincing. Regis was just staring as though he couldn't believe M-21 had just said that, and not in an 'angry on Frankenstein's behalf that this mere Union experiment would doubt his word,' but like he was waiting for M-21 to explain the joke because he just could not have been serious?

M-21 heard porcelain rattle as someone set down a cup, and it made him blink.

Rai drank a lot of tea. He'd heard him set down that cup a _lot_ of times, and maybe there was a subtle chime or clink, but never that amount of noise. Was _he_ pissed off over the insult to his bondservant or whatever?

"He found me," Muzaka said, totally oblivious to the silence and feeling that something significant was about to happen that pervaded the room.

It made Raizel sigh, moment lost. He looked up at M-21 afterwards, meeting his eyes.

"Found Raizel too!" Muzaka said as though he'd only just realized that. "Even if it took him eight hundred and twenty years."

This time Dr. Frankenstein joined in the sighing. The unsaid, ' _Not helping_ ,' echoed in the silence, but the doctor and the nobles were too elegant to point it out.

Ignoring Muzaka, Rai said, "Frankenstein will not be alone." And M-21 believed him, although he couldn't put his finger on why. The noble held up his hand, and the red bird flew across the coffee table from Frankenstein to perch on it. "The Previous Lord's Awakening granted Hugin a small Authority over souls. He is made of many souls, and can distinguish between them. There are so many souls here that he will not be able to make you out among them if you are more than a few blocks away, but if we cannot find you I will Awaken him and lend him my power."

Frankenstein's eyes widened in alarm. "That won't be necessary, Rai," he said quickly. "I spent centuries looking for you, so I enhanced Hugin's range. By quite a lot."

Rai gave him a look.

"Of course Krasis volunteered when the Previous Lord was so worried about you! He may have gotten a little nibbled around the edges, but he was totally fine, you can take a look at Amore yourself when we go to Lukedonia."

"And you made sure it got a nip of both their souls." Muzaka laughed.

"Hugin knows you're in danger from the Union, and he hates the Union. If they try to take you out of the city, Hugin will notice," the scientist said, trying to ignore Muzaka. "If you vanish into a Sanctuary like Rai, Hugin will notice. Anything else, and we will find you. I'd prefer to come myself, because Rai is sick, but if I am unavailable there is nothing on this earth capable of keeping the Noblesse from saving you."

"Except getting lost," Rai said, radiating dignity and certainty, "but Frankenstein has granted me the ability to call upon the soul weapon Hugin, and Ikhan has installed the cellphone app Google Maps. With their help, I will not fail you."

The room went silent again, but this time it wasn't a waiting silence, full of dignity and portent or whatever.

Uh... Yeeeeeah.

And M-21 believed him, because no one could sound so serious saying something like that unless they were actually _serious_.


	12. Part 2 Chapter 6

_I wanted to post fluff today given what's going on, but this is what I had that I could get postable. I hope it provides something else to think about for a bit._

 _The adorable cover illustration is by zvaize of tumblr, who I would like to thank very much!_

* * *

Plastic bag full of snacks Yuna'd asked him to carry thrown over his shoulder, M-21 realized he'd gotten ahead of the kids and turned around to see Ikhan talking to Regis, looking up at M-24 as he said something excitedly. Both of the M-series knew a bit about hacking from trying to get into Union computers for information that would help them survive. Ikhan was a lot better at it than they were, but even if it was an advantage that everyone in the Union thought they were stupid and worthless, it was nice to see Ikhan's face light up as he realized they knew something about the kid's… Thing he did for fun?

He saw the craggy smile on his comrade's face and thought, " _This isn't so bad."_

* * *

M-21's enhanced hearing picked up Seira's little sound of disappointment before he rounded the corner into the living room. Urokai was home and had claimed the kitchen, so Seira wouldn't be able to cook tonight.

She glanced between the older noble and Shinwoo, but joined the students around the coffee table when Yuna waved to her.

"Come play with us too!" Shinwoo said as Seira sat down next to him.

M-21 bristled a bit when he saw that Regis was sitting next to M-24, but he still shook his head. "I got something else to do," he said, and went into the kitchen. "Hey," he said to the noble.

"Hmm?"

"The tea stuff you gave us helped M-24, so I want to learn about it."

Turning to him, the noble's face lit up, but he paused, visibly restraining himself from going into excited chatter. "There are books like the one I gave you, and online resources – I could pick out some more for you."

"I already looked into that." So even if M-21 would rather avoid having to spend time with the powerful nobles so he didn't have to worry about pissing them off, "They've just got what teas do for humans. We're not human anymore."

"Who told you that?" Urokai wondered. "The people who serve the Union willingly may have betrayed humanity, but you two haven't. I do hope I don't have to stab any of the children… Did they bother you two? Because if they have been insulting you like that, I really should get it taken care of before Frankenstein finds out some noble thought they had the right to decide who was and wasn't human. Stabbings heal, even ones from soul weapons. The last person Frankenstein gave a disappointed lecture is still too ashamed to show their face and it's been… four hundred years now? Something like that."

"They're all nice," M-21 said quickly, because he didn't want to get anyone in trouble with a scientist! "Too nice," he muttered under his breath, giving Regis a baleful look. M-24 was _his_ comrade.

"He doesn't need to let the Landegre _or_ the Ru adopt him." Urokai told him. "Humans are very cute once you get to know them, and nobles were forbidden to live among humans _ages_ ago. But then we started rescuing more Union victims than could really fit in the manor, and Raskreia thought it would be a good idea to find out what happens if humans and nobles live together. But learning how to take care of yourself and your comrade without being dependent on anyone will also help restore your pride." He nodded to himself. "I'm not a Tradio or a human doctor, but I've picked up a lot of remedies, if I do say so myself. We'll have to do this in one of the underground kitchens – some of the herbs you'll want to know about can be dangerous to unenhanced humans."

That actually made M-21 relax a little. Even if downstairs was where the lab was, if there were dangerous things involved, that meant he'd be learning the _real_ stuff.

…And M-24 would come with him if M-21 was going down there, which meant he wouldn't be hanging out with Regis.

Glancing at the little noble, M-21 wanted to bristle and yell at him to stop just being so close to M-24.

"If you're jealous, you should talk with your comrade about it."

Of course M-21 was jealous! Regis had all that power, Regis had a _family_ , how was M-21 supposed to compete with that if M-24 would rather go with him?

"In the Union, the only people who were kind to you two were your comrades, most likely. I remember how jealous I was when…" Urokai caught himself. "In the Union, no one who wasn't a comrade would have been nice to M-24 without an ulterior motive."

"And enough pull, or permission for their scheme, to avoid getting reeducated for lowering themselves to talk to trash," M-21 agreed, staring at Regis without blinking.

"M-24 is a very loyal comrade. So you can understand why someone else would want him to be their comrade. But, M-21… has it ever occurred to you that you are _also_ a very loyal comrade?"

That made M-21 blink and look at him.

"You have a very strong Will To Protect. Among nobles, that's considered far more praiseworthy and important than just _power_." Urokai gave an offhand wave, as though _power_ was something annoying to shoo away instead of something precious to be pursued at all costs. It was stupid: even nobles really couldn't afford to think that way, or else the Union might catch up to him, but it still made it a little easier for M-21 to trust him. Urokai was crazy, but stupid-crazy instead of grabbing every advantage like the people at the Union. "It's only sensible: a Will To Protect will let you gain power, but power won't get you a strong will to protect. Regis thinks the two of you are very strong and admirable for not just surviving the Union, but protecting each other. He would be very flattered if you wanted to be his comrade."

That made M-21 stare at him. Someone… _wanting_ to be M-21's comrade? Wanting to be part of the M-series, of any numbered series? "I don't get you people," he said instead, putting his hands in his jacket pockets.

Urokai looked thoughtful, stirring one of the pots on the stove. "That's a good thing, isn't it? Because what you 'get' is the place they took you."

Yeah, what M-21 understood was the Union. So these people really did work different? Not the Union, so it almost had to be work _better_.

"It's punishment time!" he heard from the sitting room, and turned around to see Shinwoo stand up and thwap the forehead of Raizel, the one the scientist liked. The scientist who was also the head of Shinwoo's school and therefore in charge of him? And now Shinwoo was laughing with his hands on his hips and everyone here was _crazy_.

M-24 was smiling, though. No. M-24 was alive _to_ smile.

* * *

Stacks of multi-colored fabric were thrown at them. "Put these aprons on over your clothing to protect it – I'll put on yours," Urokai said, already pushing what turned out to be a smock over Raizel's head.

Somehow, the quiet noble had ended up coming downstairs with them. Maybe he'd picked up on M-24's worry about going down here?

Raizel pinched the fabric. It wasn't even white under the stains, which was a good thing (less like a labcoat), but Raizel was frowning slightly.

"What is it?" Urokai asked.

"It is not my style," Raizel confessed after a moment, very apologetic.

Urokai gasped and had it off Raizel in a second. "I'm so sorry Raizel! I'll get one of the plain sheets."

He hurried out of the room and that left M-21 and M-24 to look around. The cabinets weren't even locked. There was some equipment in there, some bottles with liquids in them, but mostly it was powders and plants and stuff that didn't look very much like science to M-21.

If they were back at the Union they would have kept a lookout, but here they wanted to see Urokai's reaction to them going through his stuff. He didn't seem to notice or care when he came in, just folded a sheet around Raizel and finally pinned in a few places. It seemed vaguely familiar to M-21, but he couldn't think of what it was called.

This time after looking down at himself Raizel nodded at Urokai.

"I'm so glad! Let's see, let's start with some of the things we've found out about since you went into sleep, Raizel! That way all of you can try them once you've made them!"

* * *

Sunlight streamed in through the window behind the desk, falling on the pile of paperwork. "And you'll be staying at my house for the duration, I expect?"

"That would allow me to spend more time with Regis, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Chairman Lee said, smiling. "You may have your choice of the spare bedrooms."

Hmm? "I would be happy with the one I was in last time." It wasn't one of the three or four master bedrooms built into all of Frankenstein's houses in various parts of the world (he had to hide his lack of aging, so he had several not just safehouses but identities, and schools to go with them), but it was next to Regis' room.

"I'm afraid it's been taken."

"Taken?" Rousare asked, frowning for a moment. The clan leader's eyebrows rose. "I am pleased to see that you are looking well."

Frankenstein hid a frown. Was it that obvious? Of course, he socialized more with the Landegre than the other pureblooded families bar Kertia, and their loyalty was beyond reproach. It was just that he was hoping to surprise Rousare with Raizel's resurrection. If a clan leader could get as far as their living room without sensing Raizel's aura, it would prove that the shielding on the house (which he'd copied for the school) worked as well as Frankenstein hoped.

Or maybe it was his own fault his student knew him this well, really.

The Loyard and Landegre clan heirs along with Ximine Siriana kneeling to formally great the Landegre Clan Leader in the middle of the schoolgrounds drew some stares from the first-years, but the older students knew about those three being foreign nobility and had learned that it was rude to stare after attending _his_ school, thankfully.

Like Gejutel, Rousare was certainly striking. Overall, he was far less severe than his father. Also less massive. Regis was attempting to emulate Gejutel to seem more grown-up. Probably because he, like Ikhan, was still quite short. Even Regis' father would have seemed like a half-grown colt standing next to Gejutel if it weren't for a noble's dignity and grace born of long practice (by human standards, at least).

Honestly, did the Landegre age like trees?

Frankenstein's thoughts were interrupted when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

* * *

"Have I mentioned that I'm a big fan of your work? Because I'm a big fan of your work," one of Urokai's two captives was saying when Frankenstein got close enough to hear. He landed on the roof, Raizel behind him and to his right.

"Good news – they were sent by an elder to investigate Crombel. He's made some trouble for the Union, so I don't think there will be too much reprisal when we kill him," Urokai told Frankenstein.

He smiled. "That is good news. And who might you be?" he asked the young – almost certainly doubly-young, without their memories – men.

"I'm Tao, and this is Takeo!"

The taller one with long hair's eyes widened. "Are you… They say you can cure anything. I have a sister."

"Oooh." Urokai nodded. "I thought this was too easy. That's why I called you," he looked at Frankenstein.

"You two haven't been mentally tampered with much beyond the usual," he could tell thanks to the power of the Noblesse he gained through the contract. "But they may have intended for us to capture you. Union victims aren't allowed siblings. Union 'culture' is designed to turn humans into useful tools but still helpless to defy their owners, and family bonds are a source of strength. It's so obviously that something's up that they may have put you in a position to be captured so that someone would investigate what is going in."

"They're using us as a trap for you?"

"Probably you," said Tao, tapping his fingers together thoughtfully. "They'd know that you're soft and try to spare people. I thought they hadn't gotten rid of you yet because Dr. Aris didn't want her experiment messed up, but…"

"Rousare just arrived – why don't we let him handle it?" Frankenstein asked Urokai.

Rousare's fellow clan leader nodded thoughtfully. "His birthday is coming up."

Frankenstein arched an eyebrow – Urokai was remembering birthdays now?

"Birthdays are _always_ coming up, they're so close together."

"Not that it's a bad thing to spoil other people's children," Frankenstein said, smiling. Urokai enjoyed his position of favorite uncle to the rest of the clan leaders – not that it was hard to be the cool one who knew more about what the younger generation were going through when you were standing next to Gejutel.


	13. Part 2 Chapter 7

"Yessssss…" Frankenstein made sure there was no noise as his feet hit the rooftop and they jumped to the next building, "Urokai and I are out dealing with something at the moment."

He glanced ahead, estimating the distance between them and Rousare's aura. Interrupting Muzaka, he spoke into the phone, saying, "Normally I would appreciate you offering to look after Raizel while we're gone, but we left a note asking him to look after the children. Can you find a coffee shop or somewhere to stay until we finish up here?" It wasn't that Raizel wouldn't like to see Muzaka, but Frankenstein was glad to hear that Raizel thought he was up to protecting the children, it was a sign his bonded was finally starting to feel a little more up to things.

Actually… "Urokai!" he threw the phone over. "Muzaka's offered to get take-out." He doubted the Union's victims had adequate cooking skills despite Urokai's tea classes, and left to his own devices Raizel made desserts and drinks fairly exclusively. Frankenstein was going to want something a little more substantial when they got home.

"Glad to hear you're being useful for once!" Urokai told Muzaka. "I'll text you the restaurant's address and our orders." Urokai hung up and glanced down at the phone, fingers flashing over the keys, as a body flew past him.

Seira followed, giving them a nod as she flew by, already moving her arm for another backhanded blow. That was one way to avoid involving civilians: force the enemy to an empty location whether they liked it or not.

They landed on the roof of the building next to a helicopter, Frankenstein a few paces behind Urokai.

"I assume there's a reason you asked us to come all this way," Urokai said to Rousare, still texting. The cellphone was a kind normally used in Europe, for the sake of the misdirection.

"We seem to have caught a Union elder." Rousare looked at the man who was standing next to the helicopter, looking entirely unconcerned. From that smile, he knew just how many people would die if they laid a finger on him and the Union released bioweapons because of the 'insult.'

"I'm hoping to make an exchange." The man said, smirking. "A list of the names of the M-series for your autograph, F. I'm a huge fan of your work, both in human enhancement and eliminating the competition."

Frankenstein held up a hand. " _Raizel, could you come here? Quickly."_

A flash of lightning, and Raizel appeared next to him, looking around. He must be well on his way to recovery, if he was willing to use the longer-range teleportation technique that he and the Lords had access to, although Rozaria was working on it.

Seeing Crombel, Raizel's eyes focused on him. "Do you think you can wait to sentence him?" Frankenstein asked. He wouldn't _mind_ Crombel dead, but the plan they had discussed… If Raizel's drive to kill those who trespassed both against power and the souls of the innocent was too strong, they would have to find another way.

Crombel fell to his knees, eyes going blank.

"I'll check for additional surveillance," Urokai said, taking off.

"I'll do an additional sweep," Rael said, appearing lonely long enough to speak.

Urokai gave him a nod, and headed for a different neighboring rooftop as Frankenstein took the papers from Crombel's hands.

Raizel came closer to look at them, as Frankenstein went through the pages and pages of names to what lay beyond them. "He was already giving you locations of the Union's hidden bioweapons?"

Frankenstein smirked. "Everything they've stolen from me or I've traded them has been booby-trapped. Lagus must have noticed that their mental defenses are pathetic, but why would he tell them when it works out so well for him."

Raizel looked down again at Crombel for a moment, and frowned when he saw the hidden memories and commands, probably annoyed with himself for not seeing them.

"There's been a lot of research into how memory and the mind work, and how to resist mind control," Frankenstein told him. "I'll write you up a guide." It wasn't Raizel's fault he hadn't checked for things that didn't exist yet when he went to sleep, but Raizel would need to be able to spot it if a criminal tried to conceal their knowledge of their crimes from themselves to keep the Noblesse from executing them.

* * *

When the doorbell rang, M-21 and M-24 stiffened. Ximine was the one to get up from her homework, spread out on the living room table, and open it.

"Yo," Muzaka greeted them cheerfully, hefting two huge bags. "Frankenstein and Urokai went base-raiding without me, so they asked me to pick up take-out."

Ximine nodded and let him in, beginning to pack up her notes while Muzaka put the food down on the dining room table and started opening it up.

M-21 didn't know if he should really trust food that came from outside the house (with its lab) over food he'd seen prepared himself (if Urokai was even half as fast as Muzaka when he was showing off what the kata looked like at full speed…), but it smelled really good and if he wanted his human cells to stick around instead of being replaced, he needed to eat right.

Tao came down the stairs, followed by Takeo – M-21 had given the room Urokai gave him, since he was staying with M-24. "Food?" Tao asked.

Muzaka nodded. " texted me a bunch of orders. If there's anything else you want, I don't mind heading out again."

If they named something and had an idea of how long it should take him to return, they might be able to tell if it was adulterated… but Tao and Takeo had already given up on that. So had M-21, really. He just… habit.

The front door opened again, and in walked Raizel. When had he left?

"Yo, Raizel," Muzaka greeted him with a nod. "I got take-out."

Raizel nodded thanks. "I will make dessert."

"Has Raizel cooked for you guys yet?" Muzaka wondered. "He makes these bite-sized wrapped apple things."

Raizel was already in the kitchen, opening cupboards.

Why were nobles and werewolves so serious about food when they didn't need it? At the Union it was just rations, you got enough or you didn't, but M-21 remembered when they were allowed on missions, allowed to eat food from outside the Union, and right away they'd known that they couldn't go back to the lab.

A gust from the door, opening and closing too fast for M-21 to see, and another noble who looked kind of like Frankenstein appeared in the kitchen. "I have papers to give to M-21 and M-24," he said, looking around at the enhanced humans, although he nodded in return when Ximine nodded at him.

"Hey, Rael. I see how it is," Muzaka said, trying to look sad but barely suppressing a grin. "They invite Ragar and Gejutel's kids, and I'm not invited to the base-raiding. Hey, Raizel, what do you say you give them that disappointed look for leaving the two of us out?"

"Frankenstein invited me," Raizel said, sighing that he couldn't help Muzaka, and Muzaka jerked, pretending he'd been shot through the heart.

"Woe is me! Pass the kimchi?" he asked M-24, who complied.

"I'm M-21," M-21 said, putting down the plate he'd been loading up with samples of the various dishes.

The noble passed him a sheaf of papers and took off again.

M-21 read the top sheet and rushed to M-24's side, pushing the papers at him. If these were real!

"Well, looks like they got something good out of the base-raiding, at least." Muzaka said, watching them. "I hope the other kids are having fun."

"I am certain of it," Ximine said. "They take after their parents, and Sir Gejutel."

"Oh hey, Ximine!" Muzaka said cheerfully. "You were left out too?"

She let out a little sigh, unimpressed that it had taken him this long to notice, but M-21 couldn't really care. M-83's name, and, and!

* * *

Urokai was the last inside the house, playing rear-guard. When he came in, he frowned. The two enhanced humans he'd found along with the mutant had the list of names spread out on the living room table, and from the muttering were trying to memorize them. That was all well and good, but what concerned him was, "I'm not seeing any plates. Have you two eaten?"

M-21 looked up at him and then back down at the names, but M-24 looked a little abashed.

"I'll run to the store and make you something that's good for the memory. Why don't I start by making you some tea… Raizel!" he exclaimed, seeing him in the kitchen. Forget teleporting like that, to help them out by brainwashing a Union elder to start sending elders over here where Raizel could get at the their memories and find all the booby-traps. Raizel was cooking again! Urokai had thought he wasn't because he didn't want to mess up the equipment, but even after Frankenstein wrote up a guide to the kitchen appliances? It was _worrying_ that Sir Raizel wasn't joining him in the kitchen, listening to Urokai chat while they worked together.

He couldn't help hugging Sir Raizel, because he'd missed him so much!

"Oh yes, tea, tea…" he let go quickly, because of the children. "I have _so_ many sweets recipes to show you," he said to Raizel as he poured the hot water and added the leaves – no time for a more elaborate tea ceremony, he wanted something warm into those two and then off to the market to get them to eat something more solid.

* * *

Seeing Urokai had matters in hand, Frankenstein sat down at the table by Takeo and Tao. "I'm afraid you're an only child," he told Takeo.

The sniper drew in a breath, looking shocked.

"We got into the Union's records of its victims, and based on your account of when you were meeting with Teira, I'm afraid she can only be Dr. Aris. Your missions and who you were in contact with were monitored very closely, because Dr. Aris was afraid of one of her rivals sabotaging the experiment to keep her from gaining more prestige."

Tao touched Takeo on the arm, trying to anchor him. The enhanced human clearly wished he knew what to do for this kind of thing.

"We've arranged matters so that Dr. Aris will be dispatched to Korea so that you can meet with her," Frankenstein said. "Sometimes the way the Union damages its victims results in split personalities. It's not very likely when according to her records she was noncompliant when the Union conscripted her into its ranks – they take more care when brainwashing the scientists, to make sure they don't have enough of their original wills left to commit sabotage. It's possible the Teira you knew was some remnant of her original personality, but not very likely. One thing I can tell you is that 'Teira' wasn't a trap planted for us – we have documentation of the planned course of your experiment, and you were slated to be used up under controlled circumstances. Sending you on a high-risk mission, or something long-term like infiltration, would have caused the experiment to fail."

"You have the documentation on what they did to us?" Tao asked eagerly, then winced, and went back to trying to stay silent for Takeo's sake.

Frankenstein nodded. "Rousare and Rael are examining it and sending it off to the Central Order Knights and Lukedonia's Intelligence Service, but it shouldn't take them that long. If you like, I can go and print a copy."

"We would appreciate that," Takeo managed to say, bowing his head.

They were eating, they already had tea… he wanted to comfort them, but he'd headed out wearing a white coat, so they would be more comfortable if he kept his word and left them alone to go fetch the documents.

* * *

"Takeo…" Tao looked at him worriedly when they were up in their room, leaning over towards him.

"What if they're right? What if Teira… what if all of it was to toy with me?" Takeo asked. "If that's true, I… I've killed people."

Yes? Even Tao had killed people. Not that many because Krans, Shark and Hammer were so eager and the enemies weren't supposed to be able to survive to reach Tao at mission control, but they made him test out his abilities with used-up experiment subjects.

"I did it for Teira. Because she needed the treatment. Needed me. If I've killed people for _nothing_ …"

Tao shook himself. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I just didn't want to die. I didn't have a better reason than that, but so what? They didn't want to die either, the people they had us kill. I wasn't looking into how to get away from the Union. I didn't really think I deserved to, when the other experiments hadn't." He only knew about Urokai and Frankenstein because it was his job to gather intel. And to think of people who destroyed Union bases as easily as DA-5 destroyed their own targets?

He'd thought they'd kill him, if they ever came to a base where he was stationed. Tao thought he'd deserve it, but Urokai looked at them and told them to come with him, and was pleased that Tao knew who he was. The noble – who wasn't like the fake nobles they'd killed on 'missions' that were really tests – liked to talk to Tao, and it was the first time someone ever _liked_ being around him.

He liked when Tao chattered and asked questions during the lessons about tea-making. He smiled when Tao complimented his cooking.

Maybe Urokai would know what to do, because Takeo wasn't listening to him. People usually didn't.

Urokai did.

* * *

"Hungry?" Urokai asked him when Tao poked his head downstairs and saw Urokai kneading dough in the kitchen.

"Not really." Tao said. "Are you the only one here?" he asked, looking around.

"Frankenstein, Raizel and Muzaka are down in the lab, making sure Raizel didn't strain himself coming out to help us on the base-raiding mission. Seira and Regis are with Rousare – he's really a father to both of them – Ximine, M-24 and M-21 should be asleep and Rael and Yatarl went back on patrol," Urokai told him. "Oh yes, M-24 and 21 decided that they were using their assigned numbers as code names, so the Union didn't go after whatever family they might have. I'm sure Rousare will ask Rajak to look into it for them." He peered at Tao. "What about you?"

"Names?" Tao wondered. "I don't think… if I have a family, I'd just get them in danger, you know?" he laughed.

Urokai frowned at him, and sighed. "You're not the first to think you don't deserve to see your family again with blood on your hands."

"How did they deal with it?" Tao asked, moving closer to the kitchen, needing to hear. "Takeo's not doing so good."

"No one is, after the Union's gotten their hands on them." Urokai bared his fangs. "Don't worry about putting him on suicide watch – Raizel and I will know if he decides to do anything drastic. Frankenstein _could_ know, but it hurts him too much, to watch people being in pain all the time, so he is under _strict orders_ to shut off that power around poor things like you. He still aches that he can't do more for you, and that being near him makes you afraid. So I do know a little something about the gentle humans that hate killing and still end up killing people."

"So what do I do?" Tao asked.

"He won't do anything until he's had the chance to hear it from her. That won't be for a few days, so he'll have some time to process the idea. After that… he does have family. You. And I'm sure the Ms will adopt you both, if you let them."

"What about you?" Tao asked.

Urokai nodded. "If you want a contract, I'll make one with you."

He tilted his head to the side. Huh? That easy? But contracts were power. Just handing it out, to someone like Tao?

"Most nobles can't _stand_ how noisy I am. You were lonely in the Union, weren't you? Because no one was going to risk being friendly." Urokai nodded. "You're not _just_ like me, you had a much worse time of it than I did, but I'm willing to give you a piece of my soul so you don't have to be alone again."

"You knew I was going to ask," Tao realized, stepping closer again.

"Humans need friends, even if the Union tries to make them forget that. You're not the first who couldn't stand the way the Union made them live. Most of my contractors work with Rajak's agents, or live on Lukedonia. Making a contract with me doesn't mean you can't make one with another noble. Or a human, for that matter – you'll gain the power to make contracts. There are quite a few humans on Lukedonia who understand what you've gone through. There's no reason for you to be alone, unless you want to be." Urokai nodded, still kneading the dough with practiced, easy motions. "If you want someone a little less erratic, Rousare is a fine upstanding young noble – Raizel hadn't made any contracts but Frankenstein, you could hurt yourself with his power. You might get along with Karias, but his contractors are _very_ social. Even I find them a bit exhausting. But you might thrive in that environment. Or you don't need to make a contract at all – it's up to you, really." The noble shrugged.

"I don't want someone less erratic. I mean, you're not erratic?" Uh… but Urokai's expression wasn't offended, just a little miffed that someone might think he wasn't erratic. "Can I think about it?" Tao asked, and then wondered what was there to think about? He'd be stronger, and he'd have a tie to a noble who could protect him from the Union, him and Takeo… Takeo. He didn't want to be different from Takeo, not now, when Takeo felt alone.

The noble nodded, of course, and, "Why don't you bring up a pot of tea for yourself and your friend? He must be feeling very alone right now, and something warm will help. Also Raizel's cookies have almost finished cooling, and you simply must take a plate of them and let Raizel know what you think." The noble sniffed. "I'm so glad he's baking again! I missed him so much, if it weren't for Frankenstein I would have gone completely mad, like Edian."

Urokai shook his head as Tao sidled into the kitchen and took down one of the teapots. He also grabbed a nice calming blend, showing to Urokai so Urokai knew that Tao was paying attention to the tea lessons. That got him a smile from the noble, and Tao grinned in return.

He _really_ wanted a contract.

As soon as Takeo was okay. Or maybe he could talk Takeo into making one too? Then he realized, "I could make a contract with Takeo!"

"Of course," Urokai agreed. "You'd be a 'first-generation' contractor, so no risk of him ending up a mutant. But if that's what you want to do, you should talk it over with him, and _before_ you become a contractor. Otherwise he might feel he has to become your contractor so you don't leave him behind."

Yeah, if Tao was Urokai's contractor and asked Takeo to become his contractor, then Takeo might think he had to agree, or Tao might leave him alone. He didn't want to do that to him.

Being alone in DA-5… would it be even worse to be alone in a house full of people who cared about each other? The family Takeo thought he had held just out of his reach?

Tao didn't want to do that to him, so, "Thanks," he said. And, "You give the best advice!"

The noble laughed. "Flattery will get you everywhere. I don't think you'll need to worry about lacking friends, Tao, not with that silver tongue of yours."


	14. Part 2 Chapter 8

Takeo was faster than the rest of them – they finally caught up with him after he'd already sat down on the couch in the living room with his head in his hands.

"I… I knew it was a possibility, but I couldn't really believe it. I thought they were just taking reasonable precautions." Takeo had thought that they'd see that his sister was innocent, and she would be cured and he could get her away from the Union.

M-21 and M-24 looked at each other. The M-series was allowed to stay together, until their 'inevitable' end, but that was because they didn't matter. The DA-5 experiment mattered, even if not its members. Takeo was so naïve, M-21 thought, but then he remembered a time when he'd thought he could do something to bring down the Union.

He flexed his hands. He couldn't do anything _then,_ but now… No, not now, but there were other people fighting the Union. He had access to training, resources, and as much as he wanted to go to this Lukedonia place and make them give him something to do, the people here were important to the fight, so maybe being here was the best way to have a chance to do something.

Tao sat down next to Takeo and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I killed innocent people…"

"If you're thinking that if it wasn't for her, you would have killed yourself rather than obey, you're wrong," Urokai said, flipping on the light switch as he came down the stairs – he must have come in through the balcony. "Humans have a survival instinct, and when they were able to observe the criminals' mind control in action, even the branches of the Union who have no idea there are nobles in the organization know how to implant suggestions." He walked past them into the kitchen, starting to press buttons and start up the tea and coffee makers.

"Krans said that our specialities were chosen for us, so he'd get the right abilities," Tao said, his whole body wincing. "But I _like_ computers." Obviously he didn't want to give them up, especially when it was a way he could contribute, but knowing it was part of the experiment?

M-21 wondered how he'd feel if he was programmed to care about the rest of the M-series, but quickly decided that he wouldn't give a damn. Except maybe being a little pleased that it'd backfired on the Union. He and M-24 had stuck together, stayed alive for each other, and they were out of the Union and had the names.

"I like guns," Takeo said quietly. "I like taking care of them. I like using them. What kind of monster am I? What kind of monster did I let them make me?"

"A human," Urokai said without looking at them, busy opening cupboards. "Humans love weapons. You'll name them, treat them like we treat the soul weapons even though _your_ weapons aren't family. You all enjoy killing things. That doesn't mean it doesn't horrify you, it's simply that unlike nobles and werewolves, you need to eat. Killing something means you have food for yourselves and those you care about. You like killing the way you like breathing fresh air, or drinking clean water. You hunted and your family lived – you wouldn't be human if you didn't like that, the same way you wouldn't be a _good_ human if it didn't horrify you that you hunted people. Being human is full of contradictions like that, it must be so annoying to be you." And here he came with the tea, his own cup and four floating around him, settling in M-21 and M-24's hands and on the table in front of Takeo and Tao.

"As for you," he motioned towards Tao with his cup, "Humans _love_ computers. Your brains need toys and knowledge the way your stomachs need food, so you can grow properly. The people who see computers as tools can sometimes dislike needing to learn how to use a new tool, but the Union wiped your brain and made you need to learn a lot of new things from scratch, and computers were a way for you to learn things, and learn _how_ to think properly. Computers are logical, and good luck finding sensible role models in the _Union_. The Union didn't dictate your feelings: you woke up in a cesspit, of course your minds grabbed hold of the first things that felt clean and right for the sake of some sanity. If I bake a cake, put it in front of a starving human and they eat it, do I go around claiming that the only reason that human ate the cake is because I mind controlled them?"

His snort showed what he thought of the idea. "The Union likes to claim that they have power over others and that no one else has any choice in anything. What Krans said to you was just their usual bullshit." The way he dropped that word into the sentence, the last word of his little speech, and the flash in red eyes showed that he totally knew just how weird it was to hear something that crude out of a noble, even one as down-to-earth (or maybe the phrase was space cadet?) as him, and he'd done it deliberately, so they'd _remember_ it. That _bullshit_ was the word.

M-21 held on to the warm cup of tea as Tao let out a quiet sigh of relief. Yeah, Urokai wouldn't let the Union taint something he loved like that.

Urokai sat there and drank his tea – M-24 did the same. When Urokai put down his cup and looked around to see that no one was likely to say anything, he turned to Takeo. "As for you," he said, voice a little softer, maybe twenty percent less blunt, "Humans need to be loved, the same way your brains need knowledge and your bellies need food. You were meant to be part of a team, so the Union didn't process you the way it processes scientists so they don't develop empathy for the experiments. Aris didn't know what she needed, or even that she needed it at all, but she still spent hours and hours with you when she should have been experimenting or clawing for advancement. The only explanation her crippled mind could come up with was that she was doing it to mock you, but that wasn't the real reason. The real reason is that you were the only person who cared about her, and so she cared about you the way a human dying of thirst cares about a fountain. I wonder: did DA-5 really _need_ all those combat tests, when they should just have needed to study you enough to get a baseline for your capabilities and then have Krans devour you so they could get data on _his_ capabilities, or are you alive because her subconscious was doing its best to keep you alive?"

Takeo drew in a breath, eyes widening in maybe hope and wonder.

"That's why we let Yuri escape with her," Urokai explained, "Instead of killing her and setting it up so the Union thought it was Crombel's doing." So there wasn't a real risk of the Union deciding it had been attacked and releasing a bioweapon. "It's rare to come across a Union scientist or high-level agent it still might be possible to deprogram. They burn out compassion on _purpose_ – caring about others lets humans cooperate. Nobles and werewolves don't help each other the way humans do. Frankenstein thinks that's because it's unhealthy for us: werewolves need challenge and working together makes things easier, while nobles need to fulfill our own wills – it's no good if someone else does what we want them to do. Cooperation and empathy make humans very dangerous. The Union wasn't only created so they had a chance to win against the Lord – the traitor nobles and werewolves are _terrified_ of you humans. Frankenstein showed us that humans can become as strong as clan leaders, and how are a handful of nobles and another handful of werewolves supposed to oppress thousands, _billions_ of clan leaders _working together?_ " Urokai snorted.

"That's why they make sure all the humans in the Union would turn against each other in a heartbeat: if they can't make you turn against each other, then they can't win. Right now the Union is doing its best to keep humans weak, but the instant it's gone, nobles and werewolves are the ones who will need to be protected, not humans. That's why the Lords have always regarded you as the ones in charge of the planet, it was just a matter of time. Well, that and you are the ones who were _using_ it, it's not as though we need to eat." That last comment was accompanied by a meaningful look at Takeo's teacup. All of them hurried up and drank and M-24 headed to the kitchen with M-21's cup as well as his for refills.

"We only have so many deprogramming specialists," Urokai said, "and most of them are busy with therapy among the humans on Lukedonia, too. I don't know when we'll be able to extract Dr. Aris from the Union, and there will be quite a lot of mental resistance to treatment. There always is, when they can't bear to think that they've done such horrible things, it's a defense mechanism. So I can't promise you that you'll have a sister again someday. But I hope it helps, to understand why it happened."

Takeo nodded. "It does, sir."

Yeah, that his feelings still mattered, at least on some level, to someone he'd considered a kind of comrade. Judging from Seira and Regis, that was what siblings were, more or less.

"Why don't you three get out a board game and keep Takeo company while I make dinner?" Urokai asked them, picking up his own empty teacup and bustling into the kitchen.

It wasn't quite an order, but M-21 wasn't going to disobey, not when Urokai was so powerful _and_ he seemed to know what he was doing. The sound of cooking was already comforting – maybe because someone thought they were worth the trouble of making good food, as well as because it meant he knew where at least one of the nobles was and what they were doing.

* * *

"Takeo?" Tao said that night, lights out except for his computer screens.

"Yes?" Takeo asked, cleaning his guns. It was calming and he needed that. It was a relief that thinking about _why_ he liked taking care of his guns didn't make him feel sick anymore. The noble really was doing his best to help them the way Takeo had done what he could for Teira.

And if that was the reason he and Tao were alive, if the part of her that wanted to be his sister had done what she could to protect them, then it wasn't a waste.

"I want to make a contract with Urokai."

Takeo was still trying to process that when Tao continued, "Then I can make one with you."

"Have you asked him about this?" Takeo knew he needed to ask that when this was a Tao plan.

"Yeah. He said I should ask you first, but he was fine with it. If we don't like being contracted to him, we can just go to Lukedonia and we'll be out of range."

'We.' So Tao and Takeo still wouldn't be out of range of each other. Takeo realized he didn't need to ask why Tao wanted to contract with him – like M-24 and M-21, they were comrades, weren't they? Even if he hadn't done as good a job looking after Tao… no, he hadn't even tried looking after Tao before, all his energy focused on Teira and saving what innocents he deluded himself into thinking he was saving.

"We can communicate even without electronics, and we'll know if something happens to each other and be able to call for assistance," Tao went on when Takeo didn't respond.

"Alright," Takeo said.

"Really?" Tao asked, perking up and turning his chair around.

"I don't see why not," Takeo said.

"I'd be able to control you," Tao said, tapping his fingers against each other in some kind of apology.

"You're not Krans," Takeo told him, because that was what it boiled down to. "You like managing people and computers, but you'd never." Never what? Control him just to have power over him? Use him? "You and Urokai are a lot alike – you both like talking, and people. If you want to trust him, I can't tell you not to. You're the analyst, after all," he said, and smiled.

"Sure, I mean… the worst that could happen is that we're back where we started, except they don't have any reason to kill us or send us on missions." So it might still be better than the Union.

"And even then we'd have more power." And power meant safety, as safe as it was possible to be. If you were valuable they were less likely to kill you. Or no, he'd found out that was a lie, hadn't he?

* * *

"You can use one of the knives if you need it, just wash it afterwards." Urokai handed him the teacup. "Fill it a quarter of the way full with tea and then put a drop of your blood in there. You won't be able to make the contract with Takeo tonight," he said. "You'll need to sleep after the contract – should we do this in your room, or are you alright with us carrying you to bed?" he asked Tao as Tao used the tea machine.

"Takeo can carry me so you don't have to stop making noodles," Tao said, using one of his cables to cut a finger and squeezing the blood into the cup.

"I think you are a little more important than _noodles_ ," Urokai said with a sniff. "These don't need to be ready for hours. In a contract, I have an obligation to you – the least I can do is carry you upstairs."

"If you want," Tao said eagerly, handing him the teacup.

"It sounds as though you do, so I do," Urokai said nodding, and drank the tea. Looking up into Tao's eyes, he said, "We have entered into a contract of the soul. We are hereby bound together by blood. Do you consent?"

"Yes!" Tao threw himself into Urokai's arms, noble quickness letting Urokai throw the teacup over to Takeo before Tao hit. "It felt like you were reaching out to me, so I should reach back, right?" he thought aloud, squeezing the noble. "Bound by blood – that's like family, right?"

"Of course it's family – humans still exchange blood to become sworn siblings." Urokai patted him on the back. "If you didn't reach back it wouldn't become a true contract, and that wouldn't be good. I'd have to send you to Lukedonia right away if I was wrong about whether or not you really wanted a contract. You're part of Clan Agvain now, if you want to be. Not for legal purposes, of course," he added. "The Lord doesn't have authority over humans and that means I don't have a clan leader's authority over you… but here I am being talkative." He scooped Tao up and let Tao's head rest against his neck. Tao nuzzled it – it seemed like the perfect thing to do. Urokai let him, and that proved it was exactly right. Or that Tao could get away with it now that they were contracted.

He hoped he wouldn't be this sleepy all the time, like the scientist contracted to Raizel, but that was because the scientist was using his soul weapon to drain Muzaka to help Raizel heal. He could feel the bond sort of starting to dry, like how a wet noodle was squishy and could fall apart but a dry one was… brittle, so maybe not the best comparison. It felt like Urokai's part of the bond was a wire, feeding current into him, and part of Tao became sort of another wire, to complete the circuit, and sort of the wire's coating so it didn't throw sparks everywhere. He'd just sort of grabbed on to Urokai, surged up the connection between them because it was there and he wanted it, but no wonder he was kind of tired, even if the power to do all that must have come from Urokai. It was still a lot of work probably.

Yawning, Tao pushed his face into Urokai's neck again, head resting on his shoulder. Most of the time he wanted to be watching everything, but for now he let his eyes close. There was enough to observe just from what he was feeling, the warmth inside like he'd just drunk a cup of tea with his soul.

* * *

Tao woke up on Takeo's side of the bed with his arms wrapped around Takeo's pillow – he must have stolen it for snuggling purposes at some point. His head was resting on Takeo's arm. "I hope you're using my pillow," Tao said. Raising his head, he relaxed back down again when he saw that Takeo was.

"How are you?" Takeo asked, looking more… warm and amused than concerned.

Tao laughed, and for once it wasn't to cover nervousness or deflect questions by letting them think that he was just a bit crazy and didn't care, no vulnerabilities to exploit here, move along. "Like I matter. What I say matters, what I do matters – of _course_ I matter to someone now. The only way for me not to matter would be for him not to matter 'cause I got part of his soul, so he's stuck with me." Tao being annoying wouldn't, couldn't make him stop caring. It wasn't something conditional, it just _was_ , and as long as Tao could feel that bit of soul in him he could be sure it was still that way.

"The way my survival mattered, because it mattered to her." Sadness in Takeo's eyes, but also a bit of a smile, because it _had_ mattered. Even though Dr. Aris was an evil Union scientist, part of her cared about Takeo all along.

And Tao didn't have to envy that anymore! 'Come on, we should contract right now!' he wanted to say, rush Takeo into this, but he didn't want to pressure him and also Takeo would be getting a bit of Tao's soul, and that _mattered_ so he shouldn't give it out to Takeo if Takeo wasn't going to value it. "I should say good morning to Urokai – wait, I can do that without leaving the bed!"

He squeezed the bond hello, and felt a little more power flow through it for a moment, in case Tao needed it. Or reminding him that he could have all the power he could handle whenever he wanted it, because he was _important._

He hugged Takeo with his cables too, letting him go when Takeo started to thrash after freezing for a moment, because Takeo was _there_ and Tao wanted to hug someone and that _mattered_. He could do what he wanted because what he wanted was important. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to attack you," he reassured Takeo. "I have a lot more energy and power than I'm used to, mind helping me get it out of my system after breakfast?" Because Urokai was getting it ready for the students. "Or I'd probably use it up making a contract with you," he went on, and then paused for a moment, a bit nervous about Takeo's reaction.

"After breakfast?" Takeo suggested.

Tao grinned. "After breakfast." Definitely. "And we should tell Frankenstein that you're not going to work either." He wanted to see Takeo curled up around Tao's pillow, watch him as he slept to keep him safe. The bond would mean that he was watching over Takeo all the time, and this was _amazing_.

Opening up the drawers and grabbing clothes with his cables, Tao got dressed in a flurry of cloth.

"Why doesn't everybody have contracts?" he asked when he got downstairs, after throwing himself at Urokai to say hello. The noble didn't even sway on his feet when Tao's weight hit him – not that Tao would have let them fall over, he had cables ready to brace them.

"If the contracts are too many generations removed from the noble, then the power goes out of control and the humans turn into mutants," Urokai told him. "Also I'm a clan leader, but most nobles can only support so many contracts – if a noble has too many then the humans can't use the noble's power to control the energy and it's also easier for them to become mutants – and healthy humans don't _need_ contracts to know that someone cares about them. When they need to feel like you do right now, they fall in love, or visit family, or play with their friends. Nobles can bond with blood, but humans can bond without blood." One of the oven mitts floated through the air and patted Tao on the head, because Urokai's hand were busy. "Takeo might not need this the way you do because he knew he mattered to someone, but you can still make a contract with him if you like. I'm nowhere near the limit of how many contracts I can support because most of my contractors are enhanced so they can control the energy and support the contract on their own. You don't need to be further enhanced if you don't want to be."

"But I want to get stronger." No more being the weakest of DA-5, although he was sure he was already a lot stronger than he had been. Oooh, he wanted to play with his new toys, find out what new powers he had. Could he fly?

"If that's what you want." Urokai patted him on the head again, fairly dismissive of the whole idea of needing to get stronger. But then he was a clan leader, right, so he might not have experienced being too weak to matter… Or maybe he didn't have to be strong to matter.

Tao was a lot weaker than Urokai, and he mattered to Urokai. He was the newest and maybe even the weakest of Urokai's contractors, and he still _mattered_ enough the noble wasn't unhappy that Tao was sticking to him. He was even humming.

"I want to stay here, but I also really want to play with my new toys!" He sniffed the air. "But breakfast is almost ready!" First things first, especially when it made Urokai smile.


	15. Part 2 Chapter 9

Fighting the Union was so depressingly predictable. They took humans and turned them into weapons, and the thing about weapons was that they didn't _think_. Even the ones who were left with slightly more of their faculties intact so they could work on a team at all were so utterly predictable it made him glad they usually didn't consider themselves human anymore, but something grander, _better_.

That meant it wasn't _his_ species they were making look stupid.

The first two, the ones who were already dead. Cerberus was supposed to be elite, an elite _team_ , and they were _so_ confident they just charged in, thinking they could take an actual team who had been a thorn in the Union's side for close to a millennium.

And of course they headed right for Urokai, because Urokai insulted them and the modified human was a _doctor_ , not a 'real' scientist, someone who cared about others and was therefore 'weak,' and that meant that if they took out the noble Frankenstein would what, just cower and go with them?

When he'd sent Hugin to take a bite out of the larger one, going intangible and sticking its head into his chest, the smaller one hadn't even tried to get it off him. Yes, Urokai was giving him a hard time at that point, but if he'd saved his partner from Hugin, then Urokai wouldn't have been able to focus on only him. He'd been so focused on saving his own skin that he hadn't processed the fact that would be much, much easier if his partner's skin was intact.

Frankenstein didn't even have to move during that fight, unless you counted dramatically holding out his arm for Hugin to launch from, pretending it was a real bird, which it did more often than not. He had to wonder if it was the influence of the noble energies that made Hugin so committed to its aesthetic instead of forming itself into any shape that was convenient. His tests had shown very conclusively that there wasn't anything making it stay in the form of a bird.

As for Cerberus, which could maybe have taken a cue from its namesake and emulated the pack hunting behavior of canines, they hadn't even called for backup, when if they had any sense they'd have waited for backup before taking a _clan leader_ on.

During the fight he'd kept expecting the red-headed one to show – it wasn't until afterwards that Yatarl reported that she'd been shot in the back by Yuri and hauled off for experimentation. Which, well. _Union_. They couldn't even wait until _after_ their mutual target was safely defeated to start turning on each other. Maybe it was the fact they were so dismissive of humanity that kept them from availing themselves of humanity's millennia of accumulated wisdom on subjects like _tactics_ , and realizing that 'divide and conquer' was a damn stupid thing to do to _yourself_.

The larger one had at least made the connection that since Frankenstein was Hugin's summoner, killing Frankenstein might make the bird disappear before it finished killing him. Futile at this point – his soul wasn't very strongly anchored to his body after what the Union did to them both, so Hugin had its talons in so deep that removing the bird would yank it right out of the man's body. He was still alive and conscious because Hugin was biting off pieces of his soul before killing him.

Union victims… destroying their personalities – the 'I' – destroyed most of the soul that was manifested by that 'I.' When they woke up afterwards and started to observe things again, pieces _grew back wrong_. Frankenstein didn't know if Hugin removing the metaphorically-diseased soul pieces before the soul vanished _did_ anything, but the bird was made of pieces of human soul so it might know, or at least sense, something about them, and Frankenstein wanted to think that _something_ could at least ease the violated souls of the dead. Or keep them from being pulled into a blood stone upon death. That was his best guess – that whatever kept those souls injured was caused by being connected to the blood stones and their hosts of mad, imprisoned souls.

He might have attributed the self-defeating behavior of Union agents to a death wish, some remnant of the people they used to be desperate to escape the Union, but the sad thing was that dying and being pulled into a blood stone was no improvement, only a different kind of slavery, unless the stones could be stolen from the Union and brought to Raskreia.

The hum of the red crystals that hovered in rings around the blue crystals flanking the Lord's throne had a definite sound of _up to something_ , but he rather hoped that Raskreia had spent some time considering a way for them to take revenge…

It said something about how unchallenging this fight was that he was splitting his concentration like that, he thought, frowning at himself as he withdrew a couple of vials from a pocket and threw them up in the air. It also didn't help the Union slaves that they knew just how painful their deaths would be if they managed to kill him instead of capturing him and they had absolutely no experience with how to fight without hurting the opponent.

It would have been most efficient to just let Urokai handle them both with Dragus, but the noble was sticking to aura blasts instead of summoning his soul weapon. This was an opportunity to eliminate Cerberus and make sure the Union didn't have any units with enough continuity for institutional experience, so they were prolonging the fight even though that meant prolonging the collateral damage.

Rousare arrived with the children in tow around the same time the leader of Cerberus – although she really wasn't much of a leader – arrived with the Tenth Elder. Rousare, being properly brought up (and well educated, if Frankenstein did say so himself) introduced himself and the children, which led to the woman saying she was disappointed that the head of the Loyard Clan wasn't here because her scythe was totally better than Death Scythe.

Frankenstein could have respected that if it was a _deliberate_ attempt to draw the Loyard heir into a one-on-one fight, but clearly the woman hadn't considered that there might actually be _consequences_ for insulting other people. After politely applauding Seira's victory, Frankenstein was honestly considering heading home and leaving Rousare and Urokai to work out what they could get away with doing to this elder, when he sensed a familiar aura heading towards them.

This would be Raizel's first time meeting a Union elder. "Don't kill him," Frankenstein said when the blood field was thrown up. "Make him deactivate the bioweapons traps he's placed – no, all the ones he knows of."

The clan leaders couldn't count on their mind control being good enough to cause action instead of inaction without being detected by the nobles in the Union, but Raizel was the Noblesse. "Can you do it?" Frankenstein asked, because they'd known for centuries that Raizel's power, and the window between his awakening and when the Union found out he was awake, was their best chance to bring them down.

Raizel nodded.

* * *

They made it home early the next morning to find the latest batch of rescued experiments hanging out in the common area.

"Want some tea?" M-24 asked, holding up a half-empty glass pot. From his craggy smile, he was happy with this batch.

"I wouldn't mind that at all," Frankenstein said, removing his coat. "Raizel?" he asked, turning around.

"Close your eyes – don't look at the kitchen," Urokai said, sliding past him. Frankenstein immediately complied.

Tao laughed ruefully. "I was trying to make pancakes, and…"

"And their training in how much strength to use only goes so far." Frankenstein heard Urokai pat him on the shoulder. "I'll get it off the ceiling. So, interested in cooking now?"

"It's a bit more than an order of operations, isn't it?" Tao sounded lively enough. "Really, a recipe isn't a program, it tells you what you need to know to come up with a plan of attack, or write a program."

"You always need to come up with a plan when meal planning," Urokai agreed. "Making several things with different cook times, and even nobles can't be in two places at once. Most nobles, excuse me Rael."

"Rael, what are you doing here?" Rousare asked, happy to see Rael, who was the younger brother to half the clan leaders.

"I was in Taiwan and Munin wanted to visit Frankenstein."

Hugin had nibbled away enough of Ragar's soul to make a soul weapon. Since it wasn't a typical soul weapon and was made before Ragar entered eternal sleep, Munin had about as much of a personality as Hugin and stayed manifested more often than not. It worked out well, for the sake of keeping Rael company.

"Frankenstein," Raizel said, and Frankenstein took a cup of tea from him without needing to look, sensing where Raizel's hands were. "Thank you," he said, turning his head to smile at both Raizel and M-24. He took a sip of the tea – a herbal blend. Not a combination he or Urokai would have picked – it was nice to see that they were doing things their own way, and confident enough to share them with others. Although if they were still feeling their way into this, it was normal for someone learning to want others' opinions and no one ever stopped learning, if they were wise. "Very soothing," he told them – it was clear they'd looked for herbs with calming instead of energizing properties.

Oh? He turned closed eyes to the right and smiled. "Congratulations, Takeo. How do you feel?" He wondered for a moment if Tao and Takeo made the contract while they were gone on purpose, but probably not – Tao had wanted to make the contract, Frankenstein's guess was that they'd only delayed it as long as they had so Tao could get used to it and know how to help Takeo adjust to the bond.

"Fine, sir." Frankenstein was glad this wasn't the deference due a scientist, just Takeo being a polite young man. "It really is something… like family."

No, Frankenstein told himself firmly, he wasn't going to give Takeo a lecture on his theories about contracts. This wasn't a classroom and Takeo hadn't asked. "They're only this positive if both people truly wish to be connected – but that's true of any relationship," was what he did say. "I knew Raizel for decades before we made our contract – it was almost a formality at that point, but there's something to be said for the formalities." Treating important things with their due seriousness.

Tao and Takeo had a true contract – easy to sense that Takeo reached back when Tao reached out and Tao had allowed Takeo the liberty when they both felt like the other's soul.

He smelled the air – Urokai was chopping apples. Apple pancakes? That sounded good.

A celebratory meal with the children, drinking tea to the end of the Union. What a pleasant way to spend a morning.

* * *

"Aww, you're not going to let us help?" Tao asked lying on the couch, head propped up in his hands.

M-21 looked up from where he and M-24 were trying to get the hang of chess.

"Absolutely not," Urokai said firmly. "I don't trust the Union to train you right – especially not to oppose the Union itself! It's good of you to want to help, but let the adults handle it."

"But I am an adult?" Tao reminded him, tilting his head to the side and pouting cutely.

"Lukedonia considers humans legally adult when they have sixteen years of life experience."

Which… none of them had. M-21 and M-24 were around a year older than Tao and Takeo, but that still wasn't much.

"Even if you did, you're still not trained," Urokai said, tossing Tao a cookie. Tao rolled over so his hands weren't beneath his body and snatched it out of the air, munching on it happily.

"But I want to help destroy the Union," Tao whined, doing his best to look sad.

"Destroy the Union?" That got M-24's attention too.

Urokai sighed at himself. "We weren't supposed to tell you so you didn't get involved, but I just can't keep secrets, especially from a contractor."

Tao grinned.

"Really, Raizel's taking care of it, so there really isn't much for the Central Order Knights, Werewolf Warriors and Rsya – that's the human refugee organization, because nobles can't give orders to humans so they needed their own chain of command – to do." Urokai sighed, sounding a little vexed. "They're going to be so disappointed… Well, I suppose they will be assaulting the bases once the Union can't retaliate with bioweapons – and absolutely not, you're not joining the assault."

"Why not?" Muzaka asked. "There should be enough bases to go around. M-21 and M-24 are strong enough, and I'm sure we could get the other two up to snuff. We could take them along with us, wherever we end up assigned."

"There's a difference between being strong enough to survive charging in and able to execute a real _plan_ efficiently enough to keep the Union from liquidating the test subjects, Muzaka." Urokai bared his fangs for a moment before glaring, but he hadn't hissed while the fangs were out. It seemed more like a 'shut up, don't give them ideas,' than actual anger. "And we're probably going to _stay_ assigned to protecting Raizel and Frankenstein, which means staying _right here_." Red eyes blinked. "You are already guarding the school," he reminded Tao.

"I guess that's freeing up Yatarl and other people for the attack," Tao said, swallowing the last of the cookie. "I don't mind bringing down the Union by staying here and playing Counterstrike."

M-21 didn't either. Bringing down the Union while M-24 stayed here, safe, was what he wanted, as much as he wanted to be the one to tear Crombel's face off. He'd probably have to get in line.


End file.
